Former Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel will no longer by on the Formula 1 grid starting with the 2023 championship, but several team principals, including ex-Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto, have expressed their appreciation for the German, backing the four-time Formula 1 champion to achieve great results at whatever he tries. Especially if Seb would like to return to the world of Formula 1 by managing a driver or even a team.
Sebastian Vettel ended his Formula 1 career with four world titles and 53 Grands Prix wins, including 14 victories for Scuderia Ferrari during his six years spent in Maranello, in which the German driver was unfortunately not able to repeat his dominant stint with Red Bull, despite his strong desire to win a championship with Ferrari.
After leaving the Italian side at the end of the 2020 Formula 1 campaign, Sebastian Vettel moved to Aston Martin for two more years, but aware that he no longer has the prospects to join a team capable of giving him a winning car, the German decided to retire after last season. Several team principals were asked to share their thoughts on the possibility of seeing Sebastian Vettel back in Formula 1, this time in a role at the top of a team or managing a driver.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner knows the former F1 driver very well, having work together more than a decade ago during Seb’s title-winning campaigns. The Austrian replied:
“He is a great people person. He understands the value of people and the contribution that they make to success. And I think he’s turned into somewhat of a driver counsellor in the last couple of years as well. So, it really depends what he wishes to apply himself to. He’s one of those guys that’s annoyingly good at anything he chooses to do. So I’m sure if he chose that path he would be very good at it.” – Christian Horner pointed out, according to the official Formula 1 website.
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Luxembourgish motorsports engineer Mike Krack, who worked with Sebastian Vettel during his last F1 season, following the departure of Otmar Szafnauer from Aston Martin, but was also chief race engineer for BMW Sauber when the German made his Formula 1 debut with the team, is not sure of the former Ferrari man would take into consideration such a position:
“I don’t know if he wants to do that. But I think he has the personality and all the skill… [that] I think the ones that are needed to do that. So I think he could be a good one, yeah.” – he added.
As we all know, Sebastian Vettel also raced for Scuderia Ferrari between 2015 and 2020, during which he worked with Mattia Binotto, who has also left the Maranello team being replaced by Frederic Vasseur starting with 2023. The ex-Ferrari Team Principal was also asked about his former driver and offered similar praise when it came to Sebastian Vettel’s abilities and personality.
“At Ferrari, we have been lucky to have him as part of the team and it has been six important years. He brought a lot as a driver but more than that, I think he brought a lot as a person – and each single Ferrari fan still loves Sebastian. I think that’s a matter of fact. I think… all the people in Ferrari are still loving him and that’s the way we are feeling. They have been incredible years, I think,” Mattia Binotto concluded.
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