Sebastian Vettel in talks to stay at Aston Martin amid McLaren speculation

The four-time world champion is out of contract at the end of the 2022 season

Sebastian Vettel has revealed he is talking to Aston Martin about staying with them next season and laughed off speculation he might move to McLaren.

The four-time world champion is out of contract at the end of 2022 season with his future - and whether he will even stay in the sport - much discussed.

Asked ahead of this weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Castellet about his plans, Vettel joked he was racing this weekend and the next one.

"Obviously I've said that at some point we'll start to talk, and I'm talking to the team," he said.

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

Aston Martin principal Mike Krack has said he wants to retain Vettel, now in his second season with the team after moving from Ferrari, but it would be up to the driver to decide.

Aston Martin are ninth in the 10-team championship, with Vettel scoring 15 points to Canadian team mate and team owner's son Lance Stroll's three.

Asked about rumours he could be an option for McLaren, even though under-performing Australian Daniel Ricciardo and on-form British team mate Lando Norris both have contracts for 2023, Vettel grinned.

"I know obviously some people there, but I think it's just rumours," he said.