Sebastian Vettel: Formula 1 off at Ferrari - now the world champion runs out of options

For Sebastian Vettel things will not go on at Ferrari after this year. But where is the four-time Formula 1 world champion going? Does he even end his career?

• Because of the Corona crisis, Formula 1 will have a significantly shorter season.
• For Sebastian Vettel it will be the last one to pilot Ferrari.
• Heppenheimer no longer has many options in the future.

Munich - Formula 1 racing cars have been standing still for weeks because of the Corona crisis . Instead of the most extensive season * in history with 22 races, the World Cup could become a quickie. The traffic lights will probably turn green at the beginning of July at the earliest. Ferrari red dominated before . With a hammer message. Sebastian Vettel * and Scuderia will go their separate ways at the end of the year - hopefully after six seasons.

So far, the sporting marriage has been shaped by various highs, but far more lows. The hoped-for world title remained a dream. Heppenheimer could never fill in the footsteps of his idol Michael Schumacher, who triumphed five times in succession with the traditional team from 2000 to 2004.

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: Leclerc with more victories and podium places

Last year - his penultimate at Ferrari - the four-time champion too often had to give way to his young teammate Charles Leclerc . At the end of the season, the whiz from Monaco was ahead of Vettel in the World Cup, had more wins (2: 1) and podium finishes (10: 9). It was already clear from there that the future belongs to the 22-year-old. Now it is also clear that Vettel will soon be a thing of the past for  the team from Maranello.

This fact naturally follows the question: What options does the 32-year-old have in Formula 1 *? Or does he actually turn his back on the premier class after 14 years? It will be clear that Vettel wants to drive a winning car - and as you know, there are not too many of them.

Only this year teammates at Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel (left) has been driving together with Charles Leclerc for Scuderia since 2019.

© dpa / Nicolas Lambert

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: Mercedes drivers in the last contract year

Option 1: Mercedes. Mercedes would of course offer the best chances for further podium visits - ideally on the top podium . The team based in Brackley in the UK has dominated Formula 1 at will since 2014 and has won six driver and designer titles in a row . Much to the annoyance of Ferrari and Vettel, who too often only saw the rear wing.

Good for Heppenheimer: The contracts of the two current pilots Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas expire at the end of the year. It can hardly be imagined that Mercedes would put Hamilton in front of the door or bring the big adversary of the past years to his side with Vettel. There would simply be too much explosive in this pairing. But why should the Briton not abdicate at the end of the season after eight years together - especially when he should have equalized the seven titles from world record champion Schumacher ?

For the country of motorsport Germany , which threatens to lose the last domestic Formula 1 driver, that would result in a special constellation: Vettel in the Mercedes * . Of course, the decision-makers at the Silver Arrows could not simply ignore this. The Austrian team boss Toto Wolff told the dpa after the announcement of the Vettel-Aus at Ferrari: “Sebastian is a great driver, a great personality and an asset to every Formula 1 team. With a view to the future, we are primarily committed to loyalty to our current Mercedes drivers, but of course we can not ignore this development . ”What is often said in sports? A denial sounds different!

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: switching to McLaren no longer an option

Option 2: McLaren. The second large traditional racing team next to Ferrari has also had difficult times. Even the great Fernando Alonso did not even drive the racing cars from Woking onto the podium in four years, fifth places were the highest of the feelings of the fast and proud Spaniard. But in the end things went noticeably uphill - which also has to do with the change of engine partner . Instead of Honda, whose aggregates were the main annoyance for Alonso, Renault now delivers the power.

Driven by this, Formula 1 newcomers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz jr. the McLaren in fourth place in the constructors' championship - the best result since 2012. The Spaniard is now  Vettel's successor at Ferrari . He also ended the season in sixth thanks to third place at the penultimate Grand Prix of the year in Brazil.

Bitter for Vettel: The vacated cockpit at McLaren is already taken again. Daniel Ricciardo will switch from Renault to the British for the 2021 season.

BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo to join McLaren in 2021 # F1 pic.twitter.com/CckaoJX4DX

After it became known that Sebastian Vettel would leave Ferrari, there was a lot of discussion about a switch from German to McLaren. Vettel could have given further expertise to a racing team in recovery. And maybe the rule revolution postponed to 2022 would even have brought the team within striking distance of the big three from Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Especially since the English will start again with PS-Power from Stuttgart from the coming season - this combination has already won three drivers 'and one constructors' world championship.

With Andreas Seidl there is already a German at McLaren in an important position: The native of Passau is the team manager. At dpa demand, McLaren initially did not want to comment on the Vettel personnel - which did not necessarily slow speculation *. This is no longer necessary: Ricciardo will drive for McLaren with Lando Norris from 2021 . Vettel will have to look elsewhere.

Rare picture: Sebastian Vettel rarely had champagne sprayed so enthusiastically for Ferrari.

© dpa / Jan Woitas

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: Red Bull has no need after an extra stay in Verstappen

Option 3: Red Bull. Vettel drove for the Austrians from 2009 to 2014 and dominated the racing circuit for four and a half years. With the team, he celebrated 38 of his 53 Grand Prix victories . A reunion of the former dream combination will almost certainly not happen. Motorsport director Helmut Marko had already said last autumn that Vettel was "irrelevant" for the team. After Max Verstappen extended his contract at the beginning of the year, the Austrian added to motorsport-magazin.com : "By extending Max, I can't do two Introduce Vs to us. It's already difficult financially. "

For some years now, Red Bull has been relying exclusively on drivers who grew up in their own academy. Motto: Shape stars instead of buying. Since Vettel's commitment in 2009, all new drivers have been taken over by the sister team Toro Rosso - starting this year under the name Alpha Tauri . That will probably continue to be the case in the future.

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: Renault is said to have submitted an offer

Option 4: Renault. The French are also mentioned when it comes to Vettel's future. According to Sky Italia  , he should even have an offer from Renault . There was  a place free after the move from  Daniel Ricciardo to McLaren. The Australian's commitment before last season did not bring the hoped-for rapprochement to the top. Accordingly, Vettel should have little interest in getting involved.

The two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has also been associated with Renault . The 38-year-old contested his last Formula 1 race in 2018, but always flirted with a return to the premier class of motorsport. In addition, for him from 2003 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2009 for the French and won his two World Cup titles with them (2005, 2006).

Vettel farewell to Ferrari: time for reflection - and the end of his career?

Option 5: end of career. What seemed unthinkable at the beginning of the year could actually become a reality. While Vettel had emphasized months ago that he felt young enough in Formula 1 for years to come, the corona crisis and its side effects seem to have caused him  to rethink. In any case, the triple father of the family is quoted in the press release for his Ferrari farewell: "What has happened in the past few months has made many of us reflect on what is really important in life ."

The situation has changed: "I myself will take the time to think about what really matters when I decide about my future ." So a decision soon is not to be expected. The experiences in the season that is still taking place will certainly also play a role.

However, the Heppenheimer is gradually running out of options. Only one place at Renault is currently vacant. Other teams, such as Mercedes, have not yet confirmed their driver pairing for the 2021 season.

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow and Sebastian Vettel decide not to extend their contracthttps: //t.co/LMvLsJZiP8

* tz.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.

mg

List of rubric lists: © dpa / Matthias Oesterle