Vettel and Mercedes: More than just a hot flirt?

Team boss Toto Wolff knows best what special impact the signing of Sebastian Vettel would have for Mercedes. Of course, “a German driver in a German vehicle is a good marketing story,” said the Silver Arrows’ motorsport director to the Austrian TV station ORF. But: “We are geared exclusively towards success.” And origin doesn’t play the biggest role.

After leaving Ferrari at the end of the year, four-time world champion Vettel has not yet found a cockpit for 2021. The 32-year-old would reportedly prefer a move to Mercedes because he would still have the best chance of winning another title there. But how realistic is this scenario? There is a Sebastian Vettel variant “Sebastian is of course someone who is really good,” said Wolff. And not for the first time. The strategist from Austria is aware of the attention his words generate and becomes a little more realistic when it comes to a clearer view of the future. There is also a “Sebastian Vettel variant”, as Wolff himself put it, “but that is not the very first agenda because we have to concentrate on our own driver squad”.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton: Just competitors so far, soon to be teammates? © AFP / ROSLAN RAHMAN

The contracts of world champion Lewis Hamilton (35) and runner-up Valtteri Bottas (30) also expire at the end of the year. It is almost impossible for the Brit Hamilton to leave the team due to a lack of options. Things could look different with the Finnish Bottas. However, Mercedes has an up-and-coming youngster up its sleeve in the British George Russell (22), who currently drives for Williams. The 48-year-old Wolff guaranteed his pilots loyalty, but also told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung”: “No good team will simply ignore it when a four-time world champion suddenly appears on the transfer market.” Mercedes last chance for Vettel? For Vettel, after six years at Ferrari, Mercedes seems to be the only way to get one of the top cockpits. His former racing team Red Bull, for whom he became world champion four times in a row from 2010 to 2013, continues to rely entirely on Max Verstappen. All that was left were teams like Renault from the midfield or possibly Williams who were behind. Vettel won't do that to himself in the autumn of his career.

An end to Vettel's career seems possible because there is no alternative to Formula 1 for the Hessian. He once publicly described the all-electric Formula E racing series as “cheese” and never significantly changed his opinion. Even in the DTM, no one would be able to finance his salary. So: Mercedes or retirement? An explosive mixture It remains questionable whether the Silver Arrows really want an explosive Hamilton/Vettel driver pairing. Former vice world champion David Coulthard advised the team against it because Hamilton didn't need any more motivation to dominate anyway. Bottas has been the clear number two since 2017 and has no chance against Hamilton when things get serious. Nico Rosberg really challenged the superstar in 2016 and won the title.

That season, however, there was a high risk of trouble at Mercedes and Wolff had to moderate again and again after both of them even drove into each other's cars. With two superstars and a total of ten world titles in the garage, no one would once again fit into the role of number two. Vettel already proved this in 2019 when he openly dueled with Ferrari youngster Leclerc on and off the track in order to maintain his dominance in the team. But that failed.

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Vettel and Mercedes: More than just a hot flirt?

Sebastian Vettel's future is providing Formula 1 with a lot of debate material during the Corona break. According to motorsport boss Toto Wolff, Mercedes is also looking into the four-time world champion. Or does Vettel not want to continue driving at all?

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