Mike Krack, Aston Martin team principal, admitted that he had spoken to Vettel after Lance Stroll was forced to miss the pre-season testing due to a wrist injury.
Krack refused to confirm whether Vettel, who retired last season, has expressed interest in being a stand-in for Stroll.
He did say that “Plan A” was for Stroll to recover in time for the Grand Prix. He later added, “Plan B we will speak about next week.”
“I have had a couple of phone calls with Sebastian but this has been also [the case] last year and will continue in the future.”
When he was asked whether Vettel was prepared to come back should Aston Martin need a driver to substitute for Stroll, he said, “I will not tell you.”
“First, our plan is to have Lance in the car and then we continue to see,” he said, adding: “You can ask me five times, we have not made a final decision.”
Speaking about Vettel’s retirement, he said:
“Don’t forget one thing - he had a very thorough plan in mind for his retirement and this is something you have to respect.”
“Let’s see what happens,” Krack added.
Stroll is set to try out Aston Martin’s simulator this week to help determine if he is fit enough to drive in Bahrain.
A possible return for Vettel is highly anticipated because it would be he would be teammates with Fernando Alonso. The two are long-time rivals but they have never been on the same team.