If we take into consideration the current situation of the F1 contracts, the only Mercedes or Ferrari seat still in play for the 2020 Formula One season is that of Valtteri Bottas, which last season was offered a simple annual renewal by Mercedes with an option for the following championship. However in Monaco, as always, the driver market started to take shape as the season moves closer to the middle stages. British journalist Joe Saward, in his newsletter called ‘Joe Saward business of motorsport’, reported an information about the possibility that Sebastian Vettel could end his Formula 1 career after the 2019 season. Below are some excerpts from what Saward wrote on the future of the Ferrari driver:
“[…] The most shocking rumor that started to spread in the paddock in Monaco is that Sebastian Vettel is considering retiring from F1 after the current season is over, at the age of 31. […] After winning four world championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 he tried to bring Ferrari back to success, but he made several mistakes and is now under pressure after the arrival of Charles Leclerc, younger and apparently with more growth margin than German. A choice that in some ways would resemble that of Nico Rosberg, who left Formula 1 after winning the title back in 2016, aware of the fact that he would most likely not have been able to achieve that glory once again. The big question, of course, is who would be Sebastian Vettel’s successor. […] The names that have been circulating for now are those of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas”.
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