Lando Norris
McLaren
Mercedes
Red Bull
Ferrari
Williams
Racing Bulls
Aston Martin
Haas
Alpine
Sebastian Vettel achieved so much in such a short period with Red Bull in Formula 1, including becoming the youngest champion in the sport’s history.
He still holds that record to this day, but it could have been so different had he decided to go on a different career path before or while he was winning his titles.
Vettel nearly entered an F1 partnership with Lewis Hamilton in 2008 after McLaren scrambled to find a replacement for Fernando Alonso.
The German’s Red Bull contract was too tight though and despite talks at the end of 2007, he was unable to join them.
After the Milton Keynes-based outfit suffered a poor season in 2014, he jumped at the opportunity to chase his childhood dreams with Ferrari.
It didn’t turn out as Vettel hoped there, coming second in the Drivers’ Championship on multiple occasions. Sadly things got nasty between Vettel and Ferrari in 2016, but it did give them the kick they needed to contend for titles in the following seasons.
Sebastian Vettel held secret Ferrari F1 talks between 2012 and 2013
Vettel left Ferrari in 2020 after a terrible season saw them plummet down the standings. The Italian outfit struggled to be in midfield contention at some races.
His plunge to leave Red Bull hadn’t quite worked out and he was forced to take up an offer with Aston Martin.
Two more mediocre years would follow before he decided to retire from the sport in 2022. He has since been linked with a move to Mercedes but there are no signs of him being interested in a return.
It turns out that long before Vettel became a Ferrari driver he was already in discussions and dealing with approaches from them.
Between winning his third and fourth Formula 1 titles, he actually held a secret meeting with Ferrari about joining them.
“In the winter between 2012 and 2013 I went in secret to Maranello to talk with [Luca di] Montezemolo,” Vettel once told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The biggest opportunity Sebastian Vettel missed to extend his F1 legacy
So Vettel nearly signed for McLaren and raced for both Red Bull and Ferrari, leaving just one of the sport’s current top teams off his list (Mercedes).
However, he nearly signed for the German manufacturer too. After a rocky start at Ferrari, an approach was made to the German in 2017 over the prospect of partnering Hamilton again but this with a different team.
Valtteri Bottas hadn’t signed a new deal as the end of his first year at the Silver Arrows approached and Vettel was a free agent that winter.
The four-time champion wasn’t convinced by their performance at the time and opted to remain with Ferrari who had been ascending and were on the edge of title contention.
That’s as close as they would get to winning anything though, before a steep drop in form after 2018 as Mercedes went on to continue to dominate that era of the sport.
Receive exclusive F1 news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
