Sebastian Vettel in 2014 had a tough year with Red Bull. However, a year before, he won his fourth title with them. Thus, being a superstar, he was expected to stay with them even in tough times.
However, Vettel had different plans. Not because he saw Red Bull as a sinking ship. But he was too big of a Ferrari fan, and it would have killed him to pass on an opportunity to join them.
He grew up watching his idol Michael Schumacher dominating with that red-hot Ferrari. And in 2015, in one of the biggest moves of the last decade, Vettel joined the Maranello-based-team.
“For me he’s up there with my dad!”
MICK SCHUMACHER WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME AND GET ME TO CRY AT WORK😭💙#SV5 #Vettel #Schumacher #MSC47 pic.twitter.com/lDzSBAXAqM
— Sebastian Vettel Updates (@ocsebvettel) December 23, 2022
Red Bull boss takes a jibe at Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari hired the German to beat Mercedes’s dominance and be the world champions again, but neither of that happened, and Vettel’s stint at Ferrari can be qualified as unsuccessful. On the contrary, Red Bull ended Mercedes’ dominance by winning the championship in 2022.
Vettel has retired from F1 and recently appeared on Servus TV with the big guns of Red Bull- Helmut Marko, Max Verstappen and Christian Horner. At that moment, Marko took a dig at Vettel for joining Ferrari.
“Luckily, we managed to get them both the equipment they deserve,” said Marko on Verstappen and Vettel’s respective F1 dominance. “So, it’s better to think before you act. Going to Ferrari is not always the best.”
In the second part of the quote, Marko is hinting towards Ferrari being unreliable with Vettel in defeating Mercedes at critical points, be it with machinery or strategies. Which eventually resulted in Vettel failing to beat Lewis Hamilton every time from 2015 to 2018.
Will Vettel ever return to Red Bull?
The German race driver ever since left Red Bull, there has been no season where he hasn’t been linked for his possible return. Especially when Daniel Ricciardo left the Milton-Keynes-based outfit in 2019.
Red Bull had a hard time in finding a suitable replacement until they ended up with Sergio Perez. But Vettel was always in the picture. However, both parties had long moved on, and the German returning as a driver was out of the question.
But, now with Vettel’s retirement. He can surely take up an advisory role in any team. Red Bull would be among the favourites for that as Marko admits he’s getting any younger so a replacement like Vettel could be fruitful.
Also read: Whopping $5 Million package to see Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton revealed