Aston Martin wants to ’retain’ Vettel

Aston Martin would like to keep Sebastian Vettel at the team beyond 2022.

That is despite the fact that the quadruple world champion is obviously disappointed with the Silverstone based team’s new car, which he described at Imola as "not quick".

He didn’t even rule out a return to the scene of his four titles - Red Bull.

"I haven’t spoken with Christian (Horner) for a while, so I don’t know. I mean, time will tell.

"At the minute I think the focus is on the now and on a mountain ahead of us that we try to climb."

The 34-year-old is clearly not ready to start talking about a new Aston Martin contract, even though the Lawrence Stroll-owned team rescued his career after the low of his Ferrari demise.

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack is also not ready to start talking contracts.

"I’m not going to speak about contracts here," he said at Imola.

"But obviously if you have a driver like Sebastian Vettel that you can keep motivated by giving him the car that he deserves, I think you would be foolish not to try to retain him.

"I understand his comments 100 percent. He wants to see progress, he wants to see the car moving forward. He’s not a driver that wants to fight for P18 or P16 so I fully understand his comments.

"It’s up to us to deliver the tool that is needed for him to perform," added Krack.