Mercedes Shuts Door on Vettel's F1 Return Plans
Apr.7 - Sebastian Vettel will not be launching a return to Formula 1 with Mercedes.
That is the confident claim of Germany's largest newspaper, Bild, citing sources who profess to know that Toto Wolff's short-list to replace Lewis Hamilton next year has only three names on it.
"And the German is not one of them," correspondent Michel Milewski said.
That is despite the fact that quadruple world champion Vettel, who retired two years ago, says he's been in talks with Wolff.
And Mercedes boss and co-owner Wolff said at Suzuka: "Sebastian is someone that you can never discount."
Another top contender is Fernando Alonso, or Max Verstappen if he leaves Red Bull amid the team's internal turmoil. Hamilton, though, would prefer if Wolff picks 36-year-old Vettel.
"I think the only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone with integrity and values that are aligned with the team," the seven time world champion said at Suzuka.
"There are some drivers that are more selfish than others. Some that are good drivers but perhaps not the best within team environments," Hamilton added.
Veteran Formula 1 journalist Roger Benoit, however, believes Vettel's time in F1 has passed.
"Too many things in motorsport simply no longer fit with his new attitude to life," he wrote in Blick newspaper, "even if his urge to get into the cockpit has returned."
But racing driver and pundit Jason Watt, speaking with the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, thinks the real problem is that Vettel is simply not fast enough.
"I think most people can see that it wasn't pretty when he was next to Lance Stroll in an Aston Martin," he said. "Given how Alonso is now dealing with Stroll, it screams to the heavens that Vettel no longer has what it takes to be a Mercedes driver.
"And whether you get even slower from sitting out for two years seems to be a rhetorical question," added Watt.
Much more likely for Mercedes, given that George Russell is locked up in the other silver cockpit, is that Wolff will take a gamble on his 17-year-old protege Kimi Antonelli.
Wolff admitted at Suzuka that while he had intended to wait until Antonelli turns 18 in August, "more days" have been added to the young Italian's comprehensive F1 test program for 2024.
It kicks off at the Red Bull Ring in a 2021 Mercedes later this month.
"We want to give him a feeling of what a really good car feels like before we put him in the '22 car," said Wolff.
Antonelli could even be among a trio of F1 rookies next year, with Oliver Bearman linked with Haas and Liam Lawson likely to replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB.
"Drivers like Logan Sargeant, Daniel Ricciardo, Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas will have to brace themselves for the coming summer," Benoit observed.
"They are all threatened with dismissal for 2025. And whether they will stay in Formula 1 at all is something you shouldn't bet on."
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These idiots love to claim Seb wasn't that good against Stroll people seem to forget that Seb had almost no motivation and was barley thinking about F1 and 2022 Seb still scored more than double the points of Stroll yes Seb wasn't completely at his best but when your not fully committed your performance won't be best and I would also say Stroll showed some good form in 2022 certain times where in 2023 and 24 he's been really poor the last time we saw Seb fully committed was probably 2019 and he Won a Race had 2 Poles and 9 Podiums and the Year before that finished 2nd in the Championship in 2018 and 2017 in a Car not the fastest Mercedes 146 Pts and 84 Pts Ferrari were behind so a fully refreshed and committed Seb could be back near his best I think Seb would be very good at Mercedes but i doubt Seb will come back 2025 I would love him too but honestly Mercedes need Vettel for 2 reasons 1. Seb is one of the best drivers we have ever seen 2. His feedback would help Mercedes at Red bull they said that Seb was like they had another engineer in the car and Aston Martin last year said Seb feedback in 2022 was a big reason why they were so good last year where Mercedes are they need someone to help them on and off track
How are Mercedes doing, Well ever since Torger wet him pants, at the deciding race in 21 and Lulu had a nervous breakdown and hid from the world like Howard Hughes for months, Not very well it seems, Losing a few of there top guys, wont have helped, and designing a brick as the 22 and 23 car, and thats despite Torgers arrogance that they have the best engineers and facilities, Whats missing is Honors sparkle, usually after every race shed thank the 1900 workers that are trying to make her win and ,almost an insult,i cant remember the last time she told the media that the country they presently were in , is so beautifull and the people are the best, where have all those compliments gone? Because all we get now is excuse,excuse,excuse , of course not helping is King G thrashing him in every quali and race,So pretty much a disaster, Now who wants to go to Mercedes?, whoever does, has to have the faith that they'll get it together Sometime...! Or maybe not with Mercedes engined cars regularly beating them, Come on Torger congratulate your engine dept for contributing to there successes
Now, im not being too hard on Mercedes am I?, i actually feel sorry for King George, who just seems to get on with it, and doesn't I believe get the in public plaudits from, Beardy Bradley, or Miserable Git face Torger he deserves.
Now back to my Sunday
If you're going to Brackley UK,
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
Hey how come none of the other owners, DaimlerAG, and
Ineos, ever have anything to say. It's always left to the other owners Torger Christian Wolff. Cause he's team principal?
Are they even a true "works team" ?
Have no fear, Im sure the mumblings have began in the Merc boardroom, they obviously cant sack big Jim, who since buying in , has seen nothing as a return on investment, as for Merc themselves, Ummm, how to sack a part owner of something, the Million $$ question, for whatever face or words Torger gives out, he knows what the media are thinking, perhaps even writing, Another season of nothing, and I think thatll be that