01 HOW VETTEL MUDDIED THE TRANSFER MARKET
After just over a year away from Formula 1, Sebastian Vettel is starting to sound like someone who’s seriously considering a comeback. Provided you’re willing to suspend some disbelief – which many people are, it seems.
“From an age point of view, I feel bloody young with all the guys I’ve raced with still hanging around and signing big contracts, staying around longer – it looks like I could have another 10 years in the sport,” the 36-year old joked during an appearance on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X. “Of course, the better the car, the better the team, the more exciting it is in terms of the prospect of being successful. I’m following the sport, I see what’s going on – and it might be appealing and interesting, but it really depends on the full package because it’s a big commitment as well. So, to seriously consider it, I think it would very much depend on the package.”
Coming from a man whose favourite interview topic of late has been climate change, that’s quite the statement.
According to insiders, though, Vettel is indeed looking at ways to get back into racing. He recently tested a Porsche 963, the hybrid-powered sports-protoype raced by various Weissach-aligned teams at, among other things, Le Mans. But it’s too early to say whether Vettel will end up as one of its factory drivers, be it just for the 24-hour enduro or for the full World Endurance Championship.
During the weekend of the Japanese Grand Prix, the media speculated about Seb’s possible return to F1 with Mercedes, in the place of the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton – but this was self-perpetuating soothsaying based mostly on talk. Vettel himself revealed in another interview – this time with Sky Sports – that he chats with Toto Wolff “every now and then”, without providing details on the subject of those conversations. They could quite easily have been discussing the price of fish.
The Mercedes boss was also suitably vague, replying that Vettel was “never a name you can discount” when asked about Seb’s 2025 candidacy. Hamilton, who has nothing to lose by stirring intrigue surrounding his replacement (and, indeed, seems to relish it), went further, describing his former rival as “an amazing option for the team”. He add
