Krack: We're in talks with Vettel, he's very positive

Sebastian Vettel is on his final year with Aston Martin, having joined them in 2021 to spearhead the ambitious project Lawrence Stroll launched.

But things have been far from perfect if not disastrous, as the team have yet to show any progress, their car under the 2022 regulations, the AMR22, a Green disaster to say the least.

Speculation has been rife regarding Vettel's future with the team and within Formula 1, as the driver doesn't seem to be motivated these days, his form a far cry from it used to be in his dominant days at Red Bull where he won four consecutive Championships between 2010 and 2013.

Asked about Vettel's future with the team, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack was quoted by F1's official website saying: "Well, we are in talks.

"Sebastian is very, very positive, very constructive, so from that point of view, I really hope that we can continue," he added.

Krack - previously saying it would be foolish not to retain Vettel - is hoping the German would like to stick around to enjoy the fruits of his labor with the team.

He said: "Also, maybe the investment that he has made now over two years, he should also maybe be in a position to get something from it and not hand it to someone else later.

"But we’re confident that we can make this a success with the talks that we are having," the former BMW motorsport boss insisted.

Krack hailed the work ethic of both his drivers, who remain constructive despite the difficulties the team is facing, commenting: "I think both drivers, we really have to say hats off, how they cope with it, how constructive they still are with us.

"There is no bad word, nothing at all. We try to do this together, try to get out together, they give us very good feedback," he revealed.

"And it would be easy for them to get frustrated but this is not what happens," he pointed out. "Both Lance [Stroll] and Sebastian, they’re very constructive in all the meetings and you could not sense any lack of pushing or motivation from the current situation."

Aston Marton brought a significant upgrade package to their AMR22 at the Spanish Grand Prix, which caused controversy, being dubbed "The Green Bull" for its striking resemblance of Red Bull's RB18, especially in the sidepod area, something the energy drinks outfit vowed to investigate as many staff members have left them to join Aston Martin recently, which raises questions about illegal data transfer.

The update did not make the car much better, and asked about their plans to develop it any further under the cost cap this year, Krack responded: "Yes, we want to continue developing this car – obviously we need to respect the financial implications that we are having – but we have a plan in place that we made a while ago that we are trying to follow as much as we can.

"Obviously you always have to adjust it depending on what is your wind tunnel result, what is your latest race result, but we’re very confident that we can improve it further, and we will do so race by race," he added.

"We need to balance now what are we going to do with the current car, and how much of a compromise do we take in continuing with the current car and going into the next one?

"It’s a tough call," he admitted. "But... we’re only halfway into the season, we must not forget. We do not want to continue now the year on this level of performance."

Vettel - who delivers Aston Martin's first podium in Baku last season - is currently 14th in the Drivers' Standings on 15 points. Stroll is 19th with three points, as Aston Martin sit ninth on 18 points only bettering Williams who are dead last.