F1 legend, 36, breaks silence on shock retirement U-turn rumours to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes
SEBASTIAN VETTEL has broken the silence on his Formula One retirement U-turn rumours to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
The 36-year-old took his gas off the pedal and left the race track at the end of the 2022 season.
The four-time world champion wanted to call it quits on his career at Aston Martin to spend more time with his family.
But fast forward to today, the German superstar is still open to get back on the track.
When his career ended Vettel said that, “You should never say never” to a comeback.
And recently the ex-Ferrari driver has been linked to a cockpit return for the 2025 season.
After Hamilton announced in February he would be leaving the Silver Arrows at the end of the year for Ferrari there was speculation Vettel would replace him.
But Vettel has confirmed he does not intend to join Mercedes and German outlet BILD have confirmed the ex-Red Bull driver does not see a future in F1 again.
Vettel told BILD: “I’m still interested and follow the races. There’s a lot going on at the moment – on and off the track.
“But for me, Formula 1 is not an issue at the moment.
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“When I left the sport at the time, I said that you never know if you might make a comeback.
“But the intention wasn’t for me to stop and then start again.”
On Monday Vettel was spotted behind the wheel again as he took part in a test for Porsche‘s endurance team in Aragon, Spain, driving two hours twice.
He continued: “It was quite funny. I was just curious to see how such a car works and it was exciting to see.
“Of course, it was a bit of an adjustment to a Formula 1 car and after a year and a half I was maybe a little rusty.”
But for now Vettel will remain retired until the right opportunity comes calling for him.