Sebastian Vettel has admitted he could consider an F1 return and has chatted with Mercedes chief Toto Wolff recently, leading to George Russell being questioned on the topic
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George Russell said he would be “happy” to see Sebastian Vettel come out of retirement to join him at Mercedes.
The Silver Arrows are in need of a new driver with Lewis Hamilton heading to Ferrari at the end of the year. And Vettel has been mentioned as a potential option despite his retirement from Formula 1 in 2022.
Russell has worked with Vettel before as directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and so know each other well. Asked ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix about the idea of linking up with the German, the 26-year-old said he was open to the idea.
He told reporters: “For sure, his personality is missed. I’m really happy and open to having anybody as my team mate. Whether it’s a world champion or a rookie, it doesn’t change how I go about my business.”
Vettel is still only 36 – a comeback would make him just the third oldest driver on the grid behind Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. But it was a desire to spend more time with his family that led to him making the decision to walk away from F1 in the first place.
Nevertheless, the four-time champion has admitted to considering the idea of a comeback. He said: “I am speaking to Toto [Wolff]. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things. I’m talking to a lot of people because I know them, but not very specific. I mean obviously it does cross my mind, I do think about it, but it’s not the main thought.
“I have three kids at home, it’s busy every day, so there’s a lot of other thoughts I have. There’s ideas that I have. Events that I’m planning going forwards, so I did speak to a lot of other team principals as well, and not only about racing. There are thoughts, but nothing concrete at the minute.”
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The demands of the F1 calendar, with 24 races per year these days, may prove to be too off-putting for Vettel to consider. But it is clear he wants some form of involvement in high-level motorsport and has tested for Porsche’s hypercar programme in recent weeks.
He has yet to make a decision about driving it competitively, though, at this year’s famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. Asked about that prospect, Vettel added: “Maybe, I don’t know yet. I’ve been testing. I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels.
“It’s obviously a different discipline. It’s still racing, but it’s a different car, different discipline. I am [tempted] and I’m not. I am obviously also looking for lots of other things and there are lots of other things that do interest me outside of racing.”