Ever since Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula 1, there have been constant discussions about whether he will ever return to the sport. The four-time world champion himself, at times, has suggested that he is not ruling out anything yet. Now, his former colleague from Aston Martin believes that his comeback might be on the cards, should the right opportunity emerge. Bernie Collins, who worked with Vettel during their time together in the British team, believes that a “void” within the German former driver can pull him back into the sport.
“So, he stepped away [from F1] less than I did [sic], a year and a half ago. Unless you very quickly fill that void, I imagine for all of them, there’s that sort of slight pullback,” said Collins in the latest episode of The Fast and The Curious podcast.
The former strategist for Aston Martin then explained how she herself would be keen to return if she received the right opportunity. Similarly, even someone like Vettel could be interested in making a return to F1 if a top team shows interest in signing him.
Not only is the appeal of F1 irresistible to most, but for someone like Vettel, it could be even higher as he spent the majority of his life racing. However, it may not be that difficult for him to fill that void after all as several teams could potentially show an interest in signing him since half of the grid are without a contract for next season.
The best seat currently available is arguably at Mercedes, with seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton having confirmed he will be moving to Ferrari next year. Now, the ball is in Vettel’s court if he is interested in making a return to the pinnacle of motorsports.
What did Sebastian Vettel say about the possibility of an F1 return?
In a recent interview with RTL, Sebastian Vettel made it clear that he has no interest in returning to F1 at the moment. However, as per Motorsport Total, he did admit that he had been in contact with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff regarding “something planned, hopefully within the framework of Formula 1 and also this year“.
Sebastian Vettel has completed 118 laps, 518km, and over three hours behind the wheel of the Porsche 963.
The smile says it all.@PorscheRaces | #WEC #Porsche #LeMans pic.twitter.com/HgkhWMUQjy
— Only Endurance (@onlyendurance) March 26, 2024
Even if Vettel does not return to F1, he could still make a return to racing after he recently had a fairly smooth run with Porsche’s Le Mans car. Following Vettel’s recent test, there are talks about the German automakers potentially placing the 36-year-old in their line-up for Le Mans this year.
The F1 champion finished an exclusive test with Porsche Penske Motorsport’s 963 hypercar at the Aragon circuit in Spain. If things go right, one can expect him to race in Le Mans in the future.
