Four-time Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel has signed a multi-year deal to race for Aston Martin from the 2021 season, the team has confirmed.
Vettel, who will partner Lance Stroll, will take the place of team stalwart Sergio Perez, following the Mexican’s announcement on Wednesday that he will leave at the end of 2020.
The team currently operates under the Racing Point banner but from next season will compete as Aston Martin, following its acquisition by Lawrence Stroll, father of Lance.
Thursday’s announcement ends months of speculation regarding Vettel’s future.
Ferrari confirmed in May that it had opted against offering Vettel a new contract while potential avenues elsewhere, most notably at Red Bull, remained shut.
“I am pleased to finally share this exciting news about my future,” said Vettel.
“I’m extremely proud to say that I will become an Aston Martin driver in 2021. It’s a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company. I have been impressed with the results the team has achieved this year and I believe the future looks even brighter.
“The energy and commitment of Lawrence to the sport is inspiring and I believe we can build something very special together. I still have so much love for Formula 1 and my only motivation is to race at the front of the grid. To do so with Aston Martin will be a huge privilege.”
Long-term Red Bull junior Vettel made his debut in Indianapolis’ 2007 event as a stand-in at BMW Sauber for Robert Kubica, taking a point first time out.
A few rounds later he was promoted to a Toro Rosso seat by the energy drinks brand and famously claimed pole position and victory at the rain-lashed 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Vettel gained a spot at the senior Red Bull team for 2009 and their respective rises coincided.
Vettel finished runner-up to Jenson Button in the standings before taking four straight titles across 2010-13, including nine wins in succession to round out the V8 era.
A troublesome 2014 campaign led to his exit from Red Bull and he joined forces with a Ferrari squad that had endured a tough first year in the hybrid era.
An encouraging 2015 was followed by a dire 2016 but revised regulations catapulted Vettel and Ferrari into contention for 2017, winning races and briefly mounting a title challenge.
The situation looked brighter in 2018 but a sequence of driver errors and team mistakes wrecked any hopes of the championship, while last year Vettel was usurped by protégé Charles Leclerc.
Vettel was nonetheless surprised to not even be offered a new contract beyond 2020 and Thursday’s announcement comes just as his soon-to-be-former employer gears up to celebrate its 1000th grand prix at its home track.
Vettel had limited options after his Ferrari exit – given McLaren’s rush to sign Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull’s unwillingness to consider its former star – but his signing still represents a coup for the Silverstone-based squad.
It has largely operated in the midfield for the last two decades but its acquisition by Stroll has given it a new lease of life, following years of financial constraints.
A new factory is set to be built – albeit delayed due to the coronavirus – while Stroll has strengthened the team’s ties with power unit supplier Mercedes.
That was witnessed by the design of its RP20, a car heavily inspired by Mercedes W10, and one which Vettel will get to drive in 2021 owing to the coronavirus-triggered chassis freeze.
The deal also gives the team a strong figurehead under its new Aston Martin name from 2021 while Vettel gets to take on a new project with an iconic brand after his Ferrari dream ended in failure.
The squad currently holds fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, a position it last occupied as Force India in 2016/17, but is only 16 points behind third-placed McLaren.
