“There were now a few headlines. I still get on great with Helmut and we are also in an exchange as to the topic”: With these words that Sebastian Vettel chose in the “ORF” podcast “Sport on Sunday”, the four-time Formula 1 world champion fueled rumors that he was standing for his ex-team Red Bull, where he inherited RB consultant Helmut Marko could. Marko now intervened in the debate.
The fact that Sebastian Vettel returns to Red Bull’s lap at the level of official level was “not up to date at the moment,” said Red Bull Motor Sports Advisor Helmut Marko to the “Sky” at the Grand Prix of Austria in Spielberg. “The succession plan is something that is of course in the room, but there are no concrete names and no concrete conversations.”
The 82-year-old himself was only under contract with Red Bull until the end of 2026, himself described his ex-protégé in April as “ideal successor candidate” and thus poured a lot of oil into the fire of the rumor mill.
At that time, Marko also explained that he would slowly but surely say goodbye to the F1 circus.
“At some point it is no longer possible, because these travel traps are not entirely irrelevant,” said the veteran. So it would be “great if a man like Sebastian would take it on”.
“Vettel is a smart type”
Vettel was traveling for the red bulls from 2009 to 2014 and won his four World Cup titles in the motorsport king class during this time. At the end of 2022, the Heppenheimer resigned from Formula 1.
Speculations about a comeback away from the cockpit have been circulating for a long time, probably also, since not only Marko Vettel trusts the job.
“Of course, Sebastian could do something like that, he is a smart guy, and above all he knows our industry through and through, he knows a lot about races, drivers and requirements. Especially when assessing young pilots, a man like Vettel naturally sees this with completely different eyes than someone who did not contest a racing in his career. I can imagine Vettel in such a role,” emphasized Nico Hülkenberg recently at “Speedweek.com”.