Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari in 2025. At Mercedes this frees up a cockpit. Now Sebastian Vettel has commented on a possible return – his statements leave room for speculation. The Mercedes boss has now also spoken.
Sebastian Vettel was also surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s change announcement. Vettel left it open whether the place at Mercedes after this season could be an option for the four-time German world champion to return due to Hamilton’s future Formula 1 commitment to Ferrari.
“Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff didn’t call me, but we briefly exchanged text messages,” said the Heppenheim native in an interview with the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”. “But so far it’s not an issue for me, also because at 36 I still have all the time in the world. So it’s not going away.”
Wolff himself made a telling statement after qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday: Vettel is “a great guy, a giant in this sport,” Wolff said on Sky. He believes he can continue to drive at a high level: “He also still has the pace.” For Mercedes it is now a matter of deciding “after three or four races” whether to choose a young or an experienced driver.
Vettel ended his career after the 2022 season. After his successful title years with Red Bull, he moved to Ferrari in 2015, but he was unable to achieve another World Cup triumph. In 2021 and 2022 he drove for Aston Martin. However, Vettel was unable to build on his successful times with the Austrian racing team, for which he won the world championship title from 2010 to 2013, neither at Scuderia nor at Aston Martin.
“Maybe there will be a point at some point”
His signs had not changed. “I think that I have learned and understood a lot in this one year without racing, including about myself. Being on the other side has had a big impact on me; a lot of questions have come up. So far there are no active plans,” explained Vettel. When asked whether that was a clear no, he replied: “No.”
He said back then that there wouldn’t be a clear no, “because I believe that everything is a process. And maybe at some point there will be a point where I say: Yes, I would like to go back.” If he can sort it out in his mind so that it suddenly makes sense again. “At the moment I’m doing very well without driving in Formula 1. There’s no firm no, but also no firm yes,” the Swiss-by-choice told the NZZ.
It is completely unclear who will succeed the 39-year-old seven-time world champion Hamilton at Mercedes after this season. Immediately after the change announcement, team boss Wolff emphasized with regard to Vettel or Mick Schumacher that he did not want to pursue any romantic thoughts now.