Vettel has 'clear intention to keep going', shuts down rumors

Sebastian Vettel confirmed ahead of this weekend's French Grand Prix his "clear intention" of remaining in F1 next season with Aston Martin.

There's recently been speculation around Vettel's F1 future, with the gossip pointing to an exit from the sport at the end of the year on the back of a disappointing season.

But Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack said in Austria that team and driver were holding positive talks that he hoped would come to fruition after F1's summer break.

Vettel echoed Krack's comments.

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"I'm racing this weekend, and the next one," he told the media in France on Thursday. "Obviously I've said that at some point, we will start to talk. I'm talking to the team.

"I think there's a clear intention to keep going, and we'll see soon where we stand."

But a rumor recently made the rounds, claiming that Vettel had been short-listed by McLaren as a potential replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.

However, Vettel offered a facetious response to the outlandish innuendo.

"I think Lando [Norris] has a contract," he said. "I know some people there, but I think it's just rumours."

As for this weekend's round of racing in Southern France, Vettel is hoping he'll be able to battle further up the midfield than usual at the wheel of his AMR22

"I'm looking forward [to it]," Vettel explained. "We brought an update to Silverstone that we didn't fully get on top of yet, and maybe this weekend will help us to get more answers.

"[It's] exciting and I hope we can be a bit more competitive, to get back in the midfield and therefore get more back in the mix. That would be nice.

"The track's what it is. It's not the most exciting track in the world, but still quite challenging and technically demanding."

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