The desire to see Sebastian Vettel back on track is strong among F1 fans. While he is ready to give his fans a glimpse of his driving prowess once again, it sadly won’t happen on the F1 circuit. The German is ready to make a comeback on the track, albeit with a hypercar. Mick Schumacher, who is close to Vettel, should be wary of his compatriot though. That is because the four-time F1 champion will ally with his rivals.
Schumacher is ready to make his debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Alpine in 2024. Vettel is ready to join him in the hypercar category but with Porsche. Fortunately for Schumacher, the 36-year-old will only feature in the 36-hour testing for the German automaker.
The Porsche Penske Motorsport is ready to bring its Porsche 963 Hypercar on the track in Spain. The team is currently preparing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They will run the car for 36 hours and Vettel will be one of the drivers to take the wheel.
Schumacher, who joins the Alpine lineup, is one of their six drivers split into two teams. The 25-year-old German driver, who still has his eyes set on a comeback to F1, dubbed the Hypercar category of the WEC as the closest to the F1 experience.
Schumacher was also present for the launch of Alpine’s first-ever Hypercar. The French team unveiled the car along with their 2024 F1 challenger.
Is an F1 comeback on the cards for Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher?
F1 drivers coming back from retirement is no new phenomenon. Michael Schumacher did it after a long four-year sabbatical to race for the newly-formed Mercedes team. Fernando Alonso did the same after a two-year hiatus to return to the F1 fold with Alpine in 2021.
Lewis Hamilton cited these examples to predict a comeback for his good friend and rival of the yesteryear, Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton suggested the German would take a break to relax and will return to the championship once he starts missing the action.
Until now, Vettel looks to be firm on his decision to stay away, but the hypercar test could perhaps fuel a desire for a comeback. Mick Schumacher, on the other hand, is eager to return to the F1 grid.
: Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that he exchanged text messages with Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff following the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. Despite speculation that Vettel could replace Hamilton at Mercedes, the four-time champion emphasized that… pic.twitter.com/Vaubjsz450
— F1 Naija (@f1_naija) March 5, 2024
After Haas sacked him in 2022, Schumacher has been forced to stay on the sidelines for two seasons. However, since the 25-year-old German wanted to have some regular action, he chose to participate in the WEC alongside his reserve driver role for Mercedes and Alpine’s F1 teams.
2025 opens up a world of opportunities, though. A number of F1 drivers are set to run out of their contracts at the end of 2024 and the grid could see a major shuffle as a result. Hence, who knows, Sebastian Vettel or Mick Schumacher or both might just find a project that could see them make a comeback.
