"My goals have gone from winning races to wanting to see my children grow up
," said
Sebastian Vettel
when he left
Formula 1
and announced his retirement. But now, 16 months after that tenth place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he did not rule out He
even
revealed that he spoke with Toto Wolff
, who has a free (and coveted) seat at Mercedes for the 2025 season, following
Lewis Hamilton
's departure to Ferrari.
"Potentially, I am in the market because I don't have a seat, but the question is: am I looking for one?
I think it depends on the package
. I retired from Formula 1 not to return, but I also said that you never know," he responded in dialogue. with
Sky Sports
in England. "You never know where life takes you, so maybe it will take me back behind the wheel, or maybe not."
Although he tried to encrypt his message, the 36-year-old German could not deny that he spoke with the Mercedes team leader. "I have had conversations with him (Wolff), not really about the seat. We also spoke briefly about the whole situation (of Hamilton's departure). But I also spoke with others because I still keep in touch from time to time," he warned. "I have some projects and ideas together with F1. We will see if they work out or not."
"So I'll keep in touch. I don't know. I guess it will have to be a couple more phone calls and conversations to find out a little more. But
it's surely one of the best seats on the grid
," he deepened.
His statements, as expected, resonated in the run-up to the Japanese Grand Prix (this Sunday at 2 on Star+) and the queries pointed, precisely, to Hamilton, who was enthusiastic about his friend's return to F1 and , precisely, to take his place.
The last time. The Abu Dhabi GP was Vettel's last test in Formula 1. Photo REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
"
I would love for Seb to come back
. I think he would be an extraordinary option for the team. A German driver, a multiple winner who has four world titles, someone who has extraordinary values and who will continue to take this team forward. I would be very happy if he came back "said the seven-time champion.
Faced with the enormous possibility of being Mercedes' number 1 driver,
George Russell was perhaps not as enthusiastic
as his compatriot: "Sebastian is a great person. He is a four-time world champion and without a doubt his personality is missed on the grid." I think it is important to have the 20 best drivers in the world competing to win races and championships. I am very happy and open to having anyone as a teammate, whether a world champion or a rookie; that does not change my way of working. work. We'll welcome anyone."
After
16 seasons in Formula 1 and four titles
(all in Red Bull), several in the category's environment believed that Vettel had made a hasty decision to compete on November 20, 2022 in his last race aboard an Aston Martin. . "Obviously, there are things I miss: the excitement, the speed. I think, actually, the competition mainly," he acknowledged. "And things I don't miss, so that hasn't changed. Obviously, life is very different if you're not there." involved and I still enjoy that.
During 2023, Vettel lived
"something of a life for the first time"
. Last May, in an interview with the German media
Bild am Sonntag
, he had stated: "It took me a while to get used to it, but now, above all, I enjoy time with my children."
However, by staying active and in good shape, he did not shy away from motorsport and recently tested
Porsche's hypercar for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
. In fact, he confirmed that there is a possibility that he will run the mythical test: "Maybe, I still don't know. I'm (tempted) and I'm not. Obviously I'm also looking for many other things and there are many other things that interest me outside of the careers".
"I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels and that's why I tried it. Obviously it's a different discipline. It's still a race, but it's a different car, a different discipline. There are a lot of things that excite me, a lot of different things, not necessarily just looking at something behind the wheel but also outside the car," he explained based on the possibility of being there that weekend of June 15 and 16 at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Hamilton's move to Ferrari: "I was surprised"
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in the photo that the Briton shared to talk about their friendship.
Formula 1 is a wheel. In the paddock, no one is surprised that Carlos Sainz is unemployed with the championship just started; Sebastian Vettel, to name one case, knew before the end of the 2020 season that he would not continue at Ferrari. Nor is it surprising that a pilot accepts a proposal from the Prancing Horse to "fulfill a dream that he had since he was a child." That phrase that the German used was also used by Hamilton in February of this year to describe the decision to become his driver
at the age of 40
(he will turn 40 on January 7, 2025) and leave the team in which he achieved six of his seven Titles.
Vettel to Mercedes?! 👀
Could we see Sebastian Vettel back in an F1 seat... 🍿 pic.twitter.com/78uLw0uXHb
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 3, 2024
"I was surprised, as I think most of us were. But it's exciting. Obviously, he's looking for a new challenge and it will be different to see him in red, a different color," Vettel said of the Englishman. "It's always about the team, wherever you go, because it's a team sport.
I think without Mercedes, Lewis' career would have been very different
. Time will tell. It was his decision, I wish him the best, I know Ferrari and although "Many will measure it by the results, the true measure will be whether they are happy or not," he wished.
"Without Mercedes, Lewis' career would be very different" 💬
Sebastian Vettel on Lewis Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari next season 🏎️ 🔴 pic.twitter.com/s65Erl0jHN
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 3, 2024
A decade ago, on October 4, 2014, and during the Japanese Grand Prix,
Vettel shook the paddock when he announced that he was leaving Red Bull, the best car until the hybrid era consecrated Mercedes, to land at Ferrari
. “Looking back, I regret having left the team that way. It makes me sad to remember how things ended there, but that's sport sometimes. Everything is strange with contracts, which in turn limit what you can say and what you can't," the four-time champion told Martin Brundle in 2020.
Although he fulfilled his childhood dream of racing on the same team as his idol Michael Schumacher, Vettel was unable to become champion. And during his last years at Ferrari, there was a lot of talk about the (bad) relationship between him and Charles Leclerc, who will precisely once again be a teammate of a world champion. Perhaps that is why
he predicted a difficult future for Frederic Vasseur
, the boss of the Italian team: "Charles is good, Charles is easy. He is very fast, very competitive, but so is Lewis. So I guess he is more difficult to manage for the team".
Regarding the team that will have to give George Russell a new teammate, finally, he said: "In terms of performance, Mercedes has a great track record, it has suffered a little in recent years, but if you have problems and you are still second and third among the Builders, it's not like you're competing in no man's land.