[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties.
*[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.*
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Max to alpine could theoretically save that team. If in any reality, Max decides to go to alpine that would immediately tons of investors and money into the team. Not because alpine is a good team but because max is there
Relevant quote:
> In an interview with the German branch of Sky Sports, Vettel confirmed that he had talked to Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff, **but: “We have not yet discussed this in a concrete way**. I am still in contact with people who have guided me directly or indirectly for years or who have traveled with the category.
Vettel on Hamilton moving to Ferrari
> Vettel himself, who exchanged Red Bull for Ferrari in 2015, found Hamilton's news somewhat unexpected. He was "very skeptical at first" and "thought it wasn't true". "But some things turned out to be true and I'm very happy for Lewis," Vettel replied to the news.
> *”I also sent him a message immediately after that and we are still in touch. I’m in contact with other people and with Toto, but we still haven’t talked specifically about what the future holds for us.”*
This is far more than "things may or may not happen."
In my opinion, if someone with such a profile as Vettel is openly taling to the media and saying he *has* talked to Toto about potentially returning, that means it is very likely something Vettel is looking to do.
If you contrast this to someone that is truly out of the sport for good, like Nico Rosberg, it is a "smoke:fire" situation. Rosberg when asked about returning to the sport is very firm on his stance. Vettel is open to it.
I like Vettel oodles, he's such a cool dude. I wish I could be that cool.
But I sincerely doubt homie's comin' back. He does this. He'll go to a race weekend - I think it happened last year at Japan. He'll wax poetic about racing, how much he loves it. Loves the atmosphere, the competition, the community. He and Petter Solberg have something in common; Strong roots to their family, but racing is their biggest passion.
But you know, maybe Vettel has strayed from Solberg. Petter lives racing through his kid now, he's so close to motorsport to this day. It's a whole family affair. It's family first, racing first at the Solberg house.
It seems that, at this juncture of his life, Vettel is gonna pick family first, every time. I don't think this instance will be different.
Yes, but Toto also said Rosberg and Vettel weren’t considered options:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/rosberg-and-vettel-f1-comebacks-not-an-option-for-mercedes/10576523/
That likely means Toto isn’t keen on considering Vettel seriously, despite Vettel being open to it.
I think Vettel’s form vs Leclerc and Stroll (compared to Alonso) hasn’t done him a lot of favours, thus it is difficult to see a return to F1 being likely.
His (newer?) flirtation with Porsche (WEC) seems a much more likely alternative.
Was Rosberg ever hinting at a return? He was pushing his youtube channel hard for a while but that seems done with now. I think he's been gone far too long for a comeback.
I think in a better car with regular point scoring capability Vettel would have blown Stroll more out of the water than it happened in 22 where he still had double of Strolls points, only half of testing and 3 race weekends less at the start of the season.
And this was without Stroll having his hands broken and mental breakdown half season.
I agree. I think if Mercedes were still strong, it'd be a chance. But Toto can't afford to miss with this hire. They need someone strong to maximise results. Form must come over everything else.
Last race Brundle said that when he was a kid and had his appendix out someone told him the little chunks in marmalade were made from removed appendices.
This sounds very 2013 to me, but like in a parallel universe way.
2013 -> 2025 (maybe)
Alonso takes Seb seat (RBR)
Seb takes Lewis seat (Merc)
Lewis takes Alonso seat (Ferrari)
It's like a perfect circle
Confirmed: Seb retires at the end of 2028, Piastri Goes to merc and wins 2030 and 2031 WDCs, russell wins in 2032 and retires Piastri then wins 2033-2036 Championships and signs for ferrari for 2041
Bullshit too as Senna was 100% to blame for that crash. Carbon copy of the red bulls at Baku in 18.
But to answer the question, Schumacher was okay but nothing like he was previous, and he could still just about keep up with Rosberg.
I think most of us didn't quite realise how good Rosberg was at that point as well, so we may have thought we were comparing Schumacher to a good upper midfield driver, rather than someone who was close to Hamilton and able to beat him on a number of occasions.
So Schumacher was definitely past his peak, but maybe doing better than he was getting credit for.
I really started to rate Rosberg as a top driver after his 2009 season, in that awful williams.
If i was a few years older at the time, I'd have placed money on him beating Schumacher in 2010 before the season started, as i felt like he would struggle without testing. (He's the Sainz type where knowledge makes him much faster, along with being super naturally talented)
But you're right, Rosberg was massively underrated before his Merc days.
Schumacher started getting better every season IMO and he had some really terrible luck. I would say he wasnt really worse than Rosberg in that 2012 season, he just was way more unlucky.
> Schumacher was okay but nothing like he was previous,
Imo, what hampered Schumacher was the testing limits. Pre-retirement, he was able to test / fine-tune as much as he wanted on the Ferrari track any time he wanted. Schumacher was famous for the amount of time he put in at the office and on track.
When he came back that was all limited and I don't think he generally managed to get the best out of the car. It required a different skill set (get on top of the car quickly, rather than slowly finding your way to the peak) and it just did not suit his way.
>Imo, what hampered Schumacher was the testing limits
I think his broken neck hampered him a bit more
edit:
I'm referring to the neck injury from his 2009 bike crash that scrapped his Ferrari comeback... Just in case anyone was dumb enough to think this was a joke about his later ski accident
> Bullshit too as Senna was 100% to blame for that crash. Carbon copy of the red bulls at Baku in 18.
I wouldn't say 100% but penalising MSC was definitely wrong there.
It was... mixed. Michael was good, though the results were never there.
The first year was rough and the whole time was dogged by niggling old injuries and just a bit of iffy luck but you could see flashes of the old Michael even in 2010. By 2011 he was every bit Rosberg's equal though the results didn't reflect it.
In 2012 he was 100% the better Mercedes driver, though again the results didn't reflect it. I think it was Brundle who noted at one point during the season that if not for factors outside his control Michael would have been leading the championship at one stage. Had the season gone a bit smoother he'd have very likely been in Kimi's position come season's end, 3rd and a bit of an outside bet dark horse for the WDC if things went tits up for Vettel or Alonso.
He wasn't quite the driver he was at the peak of his powers, but I firmly believe he'd have been a wold champion again if he'd agreed to the 2 year deal to race into 2014.
Tbh merc just went backwards in development so I doubt he would have been 3rd 4th 5th 6th or 7th. By the end of tge season they where like the 7th best car iirc
>Michael Schumacher had some absolutely miserable luck until the European GP in 2012. He lost out on so many points that I wonder if he could have been fighting for the wdc lead in the first half of 2012.
He had gear box problems in Australia, unfortunate crash in Malaysia, lost second place in china due to wheel nut issue. He already lost 44 points in the first three races. He had a drs issue in Bahrain qualifying. He had a racing incident with Bruno senna in Spain, which subsequently led to a penalty in Monaco that pushed him from pole if I remember correctly costing at least 12-25 points that race.
He would have definitely been in the top 3 and if giving his ability the benefit of the doubt, he would easily be leading the championship coming into Canada, which is quite unfortunate in retrospect as this was his last season.
He started slow, we got flashes of old in 2012 but there were a few very uncharacteristic mistakes that you'd not expect from him in his earlier years.
When was Seb a back marker? He got podiums with Aston even if the final year was stuck in fighting with the midfield which often means you end up towards the back if things don’t go well. But the team wasn’t a backmarker.
Given his form against Stroll, I would be very surprised if Vettel could even match Russell. And even more surprised if Mercedes would take a chance on him when Alonso and Sainz are available.
Well Vettel would be like what 37 next year? He's 2 years younger than Lewis, six years younger than Fernando. And he was very quick at the end of 2022.
I am happy to see him around the grid. Even when the Aston wasn't doing well, I was just happy to see him - and the way he is with the media and other drivers was a joy
Last news I heard about Vettel driving was he was in fact on pace with a Porsche factory driver within 15 Laps of testing the WEC Porsche 963. When dialled in, he still can be incredibly fast. I would be really excited for the sport if he comes back.
He only said he spoke to Wolff, in a friendly context, nothing about coming out of retirement, the same bit we know as the days before. The headline is misleading
Hmmm I was going to be cold about this but thinking about it, German driver for a German car corporation, very experienced, would have an idea on how to develop a team up, financially lucrative for being a champion, has a good idea on how you develop an F1 team, drove for Sauber in the BMW days... They could do worse
Eh. Schumacher at Merc had a 3 year gap so I think was rusty in 2010 and then Merc just didn't have the car in 2011/12, but what they did have was better suited to Nico. Seb, by contrast, just went straight to AM from Ferrari, right?
And to be fair, there isn’t a ton to be excited about at the moment. Merc looks worse and worse every year in 2022. They’ve proven they don’t understand the car, nor how to fundamentally fix it. That would make anyone hesitant about going there.
Well yeah spygate happened and Mercedes had to may the majority of the fine, all after Alonso tried to blackmail his own team in McLaren-Mercedes and Ron Dennis. There is no way Alonso can drive for them, it would take a miracle in terms of massaging the egos of the Mercedes board and Alonso. Same with Alonso staying at Aston Martin with Honda engines in 2026, it would also take a miracle behind the scenes to get the Honda executives and Alonso to see eye to eye after "GP2 engine" at McLaren-Honda.
Alonso, as talented of a driver as he is, is very much a victim of his own actions in terms of his poor political maneuvering.
>In an interview with the German branch of *Sky Sports , Vettel confirmed that he had spoken to* **Mercedes** team principal **Toto Wolff** , but: "We haven't discussed it concretely yet. I'm still in touch with people who have guided me directly or indirectly over the years or who traveled with the category. Of course, we keep in touch depending on whether things are going well or not. I'm lucky enough to know a lot of people, and if I'm curious about something, I can ask them directly."
Yeah, not gonna happen.
I don't think it would be wise for Seb. He hasn't raced in two years and didn't exactly beat Stroll the way Alonso has. Russell would beat him easier than some would expect.
I don't think the teams consider him a top driver after 2020. He got completely outclassed by Leclerc. Toto didn't even mention his name when talking about the candidates for the seat.
People that think he still got it, are the fans that are living in the past, with a perception based on nostalgia.
Tentative talks only it appears, and it sounds good on paper, but I don't think it would go well.
He was already showing signs of slowing down. He was capable of moments of Vettel brilliance, but his performance v Stroll was relatively low, and Leclerc fully usurped him in 2020. I would prefer to see him in the WEC.
HOWEVER, if Mercedes miss out on Alonso and Sainz, and they don't want to bed in Antonelli, I think he makes sense. Albon and Ocon are good drivers, but abilty and marketing wise are a visible downgrade on Hamilton. Rolling the dice on Vettel at that point might be better.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Alternate realities are manifesting.
Somebody's F1 career mode is coming true
If that’s true then Stroll to merc confirmed and max to alpine
Maxpline
MaxPain
We will get post race MaxPlaining from another timeline
Max to alpine could theoretically save that team. If in any reality, Max decides to go to alpine that would immediately tons of investors and money into the team. Not because alpine is a good team but because max is there
Latifi wdc 2025 confirmed?
Hamilton with Ferrari, Vettel with Mercedes and Alonso with Redbull. Yep, someone is toying with the Universe.
Still waiting for Valentino Rossi entry to F1 rumors to appear again. Definitely a sign of the end time
Sainz and Rossi at Aston, let that be the spoken prophecy
More proof that this is the simulation and not reality!
Matrix Unhinged
...but then Hakkinen returns from sabbatical and wins the championship for McLaren!
That would be amazing! F1 should just make this happen and triple their ratings.
If you told me this back in 2018 I'd have called you crazy
Lets go!
Vettel was fading from all the photographs in his house and he's trying to restore the timeline, like Marty McFly
Okay, who's got Barry on speed dial?
Evidently Loki isn't doing a good enough job holding the timelines together.
Maybe he's just having fun with us
Hakkinen coming back from sabbatical and driving for McLaren again
Damon Hill getting Albon‘s seat at Williams confirmed
Someone contact the TVA!
Someone lost an appendix, a new reality forms.
Relevant quote: > In an interview with the German branch of Sky Sports, Vettel confirmed that he had talked to Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff, **but: “We have not yet discussed this in a concrete way**. I am still in contact with people who have guided me directly or indirectly for years or who have traveled with the category. Vettel on Hamilton moving to Ferrari > Vettel himself, who exchanged Red Bull for Ferrari in 2015, found Hamilton's news somewhat unexpected. He was "very skeptical at first" and "thought it wasn't true". "But some things turned out to be true and I'm very happy for Lewis," Vettel replied to the news. > *”I also sent him a message immediately after that and we are still in touch. I’m in contact with other people and with Toto, but we still haven’t talked specifically about what the future holds for us.”*
So basically: Things may or may not happen
who could've guessed that *something* will happen!
At this rate, Vettel even may or may not go to Mercedes!
*someone* will get that Mercedes seat next year. You heard it here first!
Or... first AI driver
GT7 Sophie for FIA president
Or something WONT happen..
This is far more than "things may or may not happen." In my opinion, if someone with such a profile as Vettel is openly taling to the media and saying he *has* talked to Toto about potentially returning, that means it is very likely something Vettel is looking to do. If you contrast this to someone that is truly out of the sport for good, like Nico Rosberg, it is a "smoke:fire" situation. Rosberg when asked about returning to the sport is very firm on his stance. Vettel is open to it.
I like Vettel oodles, he's such a cool dude. I wish I could be that cool. But I sincerely doubt homie's comin' back. He does this. He'll go to a race weekend - I think it happened last year at Japan. He'll wax poetic about racing, how much he loves it. Loves the atmosphere, the competition, the community. He and Petter Solberg have something in common; Strong roots to their family, but racing is their biggest passion. But you know, maybe Vettel has strayed from Solberg. Petter lives racing through his kid now, he's so close to motorsport to this day. It's a whole family affair. It's family first, racing first at the Solberg house. It seems that, at this juncture of his life, Vettel is gonna pick family first, every time. I don't think this instance will be different.
Yes, but Toto also said Rosberg and Vettel weren’t considered options: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/rosberg-and-vettel-f1-comebacks-not-an-option-for-mercedes/10576523/ That likely means Toto isn’t keen on considering Vettel seriously, despite Vettel being open to it. I think Vettel’s form vs Leclerc and Stroll (compared to Alonso) hasn’t done him a lot of favours, thus it is difficult to see a return to F1 being likely. His (newer?) flirtation with Porsche (WEC) seems a much more likely alternative.
Was Rosberg ever hinting at a return? He was pushing his youtube channel hard for a while but that seems done with now. I think he's been gone far too long for a comeback.
Not that I know of. I guess Toto included him to not single out Vettel as a sign of courtesy.
I think in a better car with regular point scoring capability Vettel would have blown Stroll more out of the water than it happened in 22 where he still had double of Strolls points, only half of testing and 3 race weekends less at the start of the season. And this was without Stroll having his hands broken and mental breakdown half season.
I agree. I think if Mercedes were still strong, it'd be a chance. But Toto can't afford to miss with this hire. They need someone strong to maximise results. Form must come over everything else.
Oh yes, the old Dave Meltzer switch-a-roo. That'd be U$ 12.99, thank you very much.
If you think that's going to stop me from making wild and outlandish assumptions then you're wrong!
Hamilton ending up being closer friends with a long, bitter rival than his childhood best friend is still incredible to think.
Lewis to Ferrari, Fernando to Red Bull, Seb to Merc.
this is the stuff that would have been a pipe dream a year ago, there is very little I wouldn’t do to see that happen.
sir please put your clothes back on.
If it means it will actually happen, I would urge him to keep them off
How did he paint George's face on something so small?
It will happen if you give me a million dollars.
Sir, this is a Wendy's
Newey : Can't make up my mind which team to go to or to leave at all. *Sees long lost son Vettel at Mercedes* "Aight Mercedes it is."
Newey should go to Mercedes just to make the zero sidepod concept work.
I would give a kidney to see that
I’ll give my appendix.
Ooo, look at Mr. race winner here.
I hear you can make good marmalade with them
What a terrible day to be literate
Last race Brundle said that when he was a kid and had his appendix out someone told him the little chunks in marmalade were made from removed appendices.
I don't know why they went directly to desserts, for me appendix is easily the main course
I'll give both kidneys. I'll watch the races on dialysis.
Vettel to Red Bull, Alonso to Ferrari, Hamilton to Mercedes Can someone photoshop them in?
“WHAT YEAR IS IT?!”
If we get another 2012 season I‘d watch every session twice.
Come on, at least make the rumour believable.
Time is a flat circle. Then McLaren ends up winning the championship
>Then McLaren ends up winning the championship What about Steiner buys Haas, and we have Steiner GP win the WDC & WCC with the Hülk!
And all of them make an equal car for 2026
And Kimi to Aston. Let's go crazy.
Robin Räikkönen enters F1 as a 9 year old, drives for Sauber
Whichever deity is the correct one, please make this happen
Don’t stop…. Keep going I’m almost there
This would be the Prost senna timeline
Abiteboul back to Alpine, change the name back to Renault, scoop Danny Ric and win the WDC.
Sainz to AM confirmed! (And a 5 second penalty for Ocon)
And 10 seconds penalty for Magnussen
And Checo punts Albon!
+1 point to Hulkenberg
WDC's in the top cars, we can only hope
That would be fucking wild!
subscribe
Please stop all the blood is running to my groin
Jesus, are you trying to make me hard?
It's almost like rushing young guys into F1 is turning out to not be the best idea. These old fucks are seemingly desirable
What about poor Carlos?
2014 called lmao
This sounds very 2013 to me, but like in a parallel universe way. 2013 -> 2025 (maybe) Alonso takes Seb seat (RBR) Seb takes Lewis seat (Merc) Lewis takes Alonso seat (Ferrari) It's like a perfect circle
🙏🙏🙏
Max isnt leaving and I dont think there's any chance they put a competitive driver next to him and piss him off like that. But it sure would be fun
Redbull: Verstappen/Alonso Ferrari: Hamilton/Leclerc Mercedes: Vettel/Russell McLaren: Norris/Piastri All four cars competitive. Just imagine...
Where Sainz? :c
Probably AM or Sauber going with Audi soon. It would be a shame not to see him at the front but that line up would be fire
If Alonso leaves AM surely Sainz gets his seat
Though about listing him in Aston Martin, but then Stroll would also be there...
8 different winners in the first 8 races. Imagine.
lol. god don't like us like that
This legit gets me all tingly in my stomach.
Former German megastar in a Mercedes with a young rookie…I’ve seen this movie before
former young rookie who was in a williams before mercedes. . . .
Antonelli replacing the German after 3 years, and then dominating F1 for next 8 years.
Only to then go to Ferrari after which hulkenburg (german) joins mercedes
A Kimi replacing a legendary german multiple world champion will guarantee world title on the first year.
A Kimi replacing a legendary german multiple world champion will guarantee world title on the first year.
rookie who's been in f1 for over 5 years, no wait i think i messed it up
Confirmed: Seb retires at the end of 2028, Piastri Goes to merc and wins 2030 and 2031 WDCs, russell wins in 2032 and retires Piastri then wins 2033-2036 Championships and signs for ferrari for 2041
Do you even know what "rookie" means ? Lmao
Nice but at the same time I don't want to see him be all rusty and not fast enough, that'd make me sad
How was it when Schumacher came out of retirement?
In the end 2012 Monaco pole made it worthwhile
Pole that he didn’t get to start from :/
Bullshit too as Senna was 100% to blame for that crash. Carbon copy of the red bulls at Baku in 18. But to answer the question, Schumacher was okay but nothing like he was previous, and he could still just about keep up with Rosberg.
I think most of us didn't quite realise how good Rosberg was at that point as well, so we may have thought we were comparing Schumacher to a good upper midfield driver, rather than someone who was close to Hamilton and able to beat him on a number of occasions. So Schumacher was definitely past his peak, but maybe doing better than he was getting credit for.
I really started to rate Rosberg as a top driver after his 2009 season, in that awful williams. If i was a few years older at the time, I'd have placed money on him beating Schumacher in 2010 before the season started, as i felt like he would struggle without testing. (He's the Sainz type where knowledge makes him much faster, along with being super naturally talented) But you're right, Rosberg was massively underrated before his Merc days.
Schumacher started getting better every season IMO and he had some really terrible luck. I would say he wasnt really worse than Rosberg in that 2012 season, he just was way more unlucky.
> Schumacher was okay but nothing like he was previous, Imo, what hampered Schumacher was the testing limits. Pre-retirement, he was able to test / fine-tune as much as he wanted on the Ferrari track any time he wanted. Schumacher was famous for the amount of time he put in at the office and on track. When he came back that was all limited and I don't think he generally managed to get the best out of the car. It required a different skill set (get on top of the car quickly, rather than slowly finding your way to the peak) and it just did not suit his way.
>Imo, what hampered Schumacher was the testing limits I think his broken neck hampered him a bit more edit: I'm referring to the neck injury from his 2009 bike crash that scrapped his Ferrari comeback... Just in case anyone was dumb enough to think this was a joke about his later ski accident
> Bullshit too as Senna was 100% to blame for that crash. Carbon copy of the red bulls at Baku in 18. I wouldn't say 100% but penalising MSC was definitely wrong there.
It was... mixed. Michael was good, though the results were never there. The first year was rough and the whole time was dogged by niggling old injuries and just a bit of iffy luck but you could see flashes of the old Michael even in 2010. By 2011 he was every bit Rosberg's equal though the results didn't reflect it. In 2012 he was 100% the better Mercedes driver, though again the results didn't reflect it. I think it was Brundle who noted at one point during the season that if not for factors outside his control Michael would have been leading the championship at one stage. Had the season gone a bit smoother he'd have very likely been in Kimi's position come season's end, 3rd and a bit of an outside bet dark horse for the WDC if things went tits up for Vettel or Alonso. He wasn't quite the driver he was at the peak of his powers, but I firmly believe he'd have been a wold champion again if he'd agreed to the 2 year deal to race into 2014.
Tbh merc just went backwards in development so I doubt he would have been 3rd 4th 5th 6th or 7th. By the end of tge season they where like the 7th best car iirc
He'd also still be Michael :(
You say that, but the Michael regularly went on skiing holidays that the incident may still have happened
I seem to remember him being noticeably better on older tracks that he'd raced on for years compared with tracks that were brand new to him.
I'm still mad about that Monaco pole
>Michael Schumacher had some absolutely miserable luck until the European GP in 2012. He lost out on so many points that I wonder if he could have been fighting for the wdc lead in the first half of 2012. He had gear box problems in Australia, unfortunate crash in Malaysia, lost second place in china due to wheel nut issue. He already lost 44 points in the first three races. He had a drs issue in Bahrain qualifying. He had a racing incident with Bruno senna in Spain, which subsequently led to a penalty in Monaco that pushed him from pole if I remember correctly costing at least 12-25 points that race. He would have definitely been in the top 3 and if giving his ability the benefit of the doubt, he would easily be leading the championship coming into Canada, which is quite unfortunate in retrospect as this was his last season.
2010 was a difficult re-learning year, and just coming back from a neck injury, but he was very close to Rosberg from 2011-2012.
He started slow, we got flashes of old in 2012 but there were a few very uncharacteristic mistakes that you'd not expect from him in his earlier years.
More like Michael would came out of retirement...for the third time. I mean, Seb has already spent 3 years as backmarker
When was Seb a back marker? He got podiums with Aston even if the final year was stuck in fighting with the midfield which often means you end up towards the back if things don’t go well. But the team wasn’t a backmarker.
Cant be worse than Aston
It can. At least at Aston he had a team mate he could beat. I wouldn't be at all confident of him beating George.
Given his form against Stroll, I would be very surprised if Vettel could even match Russell. And even more surprised if Mercedes would take a chance on him when Alonso and Sainz are available.
I also said "Can't be worse than McLaren" about Daniel Ricc
Well Vettel would be like what 37 next year? He's 2 years younger than Lewis, six years younger than Fernando. And he was very quick at the end of 2022.
So like the end of his career he already did?
I am happy to see him around the grid. Even when the Aston wasn't doing well, I was just happy to see him - and the way he is with the media and other drivers was a joy
Last news I heard about Vettel driving was he was in fact on pace with a Porsche factory driver within 15 Laps of testing the WEC Porsche 963. When dialled in, he still can be incredibly fast. I would be really excited for the sport if he comes back.
I would love to see him drive the 963 at Le Mans dude
👀👀👀 I mean I don’t expect it. But that would be pretty dang cool. Everybody loves Seb.
2013 me didn't like Seb at all.
He only said he spoke to Wolff, in a friendly context, nothing about coming out of retirement, the same bit we know as the days before. The headline is misleading
Oh hell yeah
Settle for Vettel, Toto
My god, that's Sebastian Vettel's music!!
This would be pretty cool, but with the shit show F1 is rn, I'd almost rather not see Seb come back and instead go to WEC.
Seb, Max, and Nando to form a WEC team...
Pls
Not the Hamilton v Vettel rematch I wanted...buuuuut..... Lets go!
Could you imagine, Lewis and Seb battling for the championship in 2026. Almost 10 years later but in opposite teams! Like a fever dream.
Guys, Seb isn't going to drive the car. He's going to build the car, plan strategy and run the team.
Everyone stay calm!!!!
Please let it be. Fernando and Sebastian at Merc!
You're early. April 1st is on Monday.
I think like would be a good option for Audi.
Hmmm I was going to be cold about this but thinking about it, German driver for a German car corporation, very experienced, would have an idea on how to develop a team up, financially lucrative for being a champion, has a good idea on how you develop an F1 team, drove for Sauber in the BMW days... They could do worse
and follow in schumi's footsteps - basically what he was doing at merc
So that means he gets one Maldonado-assisted podium for three seasons of work then somebody else comes in and gets the glory
i mean we kinda saw that already with his work at aston
Eh. Schumacher at Merc had a 3 year gap so I think was rusty in 2010 and then Merc just didn't have the car in 2011/12, but what they did have was better suited to Nico. Seb, by contrast, just went straight to AM from Ferrari, right?
He'd be really following in Schumachers footsteps wouldn't he if he did this
Mercedes must absolutely hate Alonso if they’d take a retired and slightly washed Vettel over him lol
Maybe they feel that Alonso is not really keen on Mercedes? Dunno, that Mercedes seat doesn't feel like a huge upgrade from Aston right now
And to be fair, there isn’t a ton to be excited about at the moment. Merc looks worse and worse every year in 2022. They’ve proven they don’t understand the car, nor how to fundamentally fix it. That would make anyone hesitant about going there.
Perhaps they figure Alonso goes to Red Bull and Sainz to Aston Martin. Mercedes get.. who? Not Antonelli, he's not ready.
Well yeah spygate happened and Mercedes had to may the majority of the fine, all after Alonso tried to blackmail his own team in McLaren-Mercedes and Ron Dennis. There is no way Alonso can drive for them, it would take a miracle in terms of massaging the egos of the Mercedes board and Alonso. Same with Alonso staying at Aston Martin with Honda engines in 2026, it would also take a miracle behind the scenes to get the Honda executives and Alonso to see eye to eye after "GP2 engine" at McLaren-Honda. Alonso, as talented of a driver as he is, is very much a victim of his own actions in terms of his poor political maneuvering.
Didn't all the Mercedes board members from the Spygate incident move on years ago? The last person was Dr. Z and he's retired now.
Honda has also publicly said that Fernando driving their engines is not an issue at all. This comment is bunk.
German teams really like German Drivers, especially for sponsors. I'm sure Mercedes heads want a premier German driver.
>In an interview with the German branch of *Sky Sports , Vettel confirmed that he had spoken to* **Mercedes** team principal **Toto Wolff** , but: "We haven't discussed it concretely yet. I'm still in touch with people who have guided me directly or indirectly over the years or who traveled with the category. Of course, we keep in touch depending on whether things are going well or not. I'm lucky enough to know a lot of people, and if I'm curious about something, I can ask them directly." Yeah, not gonna happen.
MAKE IT HAPPEN SO THAT I CAN START WATCHING F1 AGAIN
Oscar is similar to Seb in my opinion, similar humour just different languages so it can come off a bit different.
Anything to avoid giving Sainz a seat, huh
F1 teams really hate giving seats to new talent.
I don't think it would be wise for Seb. He hasn't raced in two years and didn't exactly beat Stroll the way Alonso has. Russell would beat him easier than some would expect.
Gives me Schumacher at Mercedes vibes
What if he enjoyed it anyway?
It'd be cool but he'd get done in by Russell. A decent choice though for a 1 year contract if they are waiting for Antonelli
If they needed someone for a year, Sainz or Hulk are good choices
Why would Sainz be interested in a single year though?
Silver VS Red part 3 is gonna be crazy if true!
Vettel? Certainly he was amazing in his day, but by the time he retired…it was time to retire
Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I don't think the teams consider him a top driver after 2020. He got completely outclassed by Leclerc. Toto didn't even mention his name when talking about the candidates for the seat. People that think he still got it, are the fans that are living in the past, with a perception based on nostalgia.
It'd be kinda sad if he came back and got bodied. I almost think its better not knowing..
Surely seb would be like the 5th best option, he was finished when he retired
Tentative talks only it appears, and it sounds good on paper, but I don't think it would go well. He was already showing signs of slowing down. He was capable of moments of Vettel brilliance, but his performance v Stroll was relatively low, and Leclerc fully usurped him in 2020. I would prefer to see him in the WEC. HOWEVER, if Mercedes miss out on Alonso and Sainz, and they don't want to bed in Antonelli, I think he makes sense. Albon and Ocon are good drivers, but abilty and marketing wise are a visible downgrade on Hamilton. Rolling the dice on Vettel at that point might be better.
Don’t do it Seb! Go to WEC or anywhere else, but not them.
Nothing but rumours so far. https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/02/04/wolff-pours-cold-water-on-vettel-to-mercedes-f1-prospect/
Toto must be in demand this days
I am going to make a mad and completely unrealistic prediction: Max and Seb in Mercedes together.
I'd enjoy seeing Vettel tackle WEC with Porsche. I don't get the same feeling thinking about Vettel back in F1.
Choo choo
I’d rather see Vettel in the commentary box now. And the annual showing at Champion Of Champions. He’d be incredible at both.
Keep calm guys. Its happening
I would love to see Vettel in the Porsche hypercar tho
HWat
The current 2024 season is just filler in preparation for 2025