Sebastian Vettel has ‘offered to drive’ for Formula 1 team ‘every now and then’ next season

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There are currently only three drivers on the Formula 1 grid who have experienced winning a world championship.

Max Verstappen is on three titles and counting and it would be a surprise if he’s not a four-time world champion by the end of the year.

Formula 1’s most-winning driver Lewis Hamilton is hoping a move to Ferrari in 2025 will help him break Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championships.

Fernando Alonso has gone nearly 20 years without winning a title and more than a decade since his last race win but will be racing for Aston Martin for the foreseeable future.

However, there have been recent suggestions that Sebastian Vettel would be interested in a return to F1.

Vettel was known as one of the hardest-working drivers in Formula 1 but stepped away from the sport at the end of the 2022 season.

Charles Leclerc admitted that he hated being beaten by Vettel at Ferrari but it’s been a long time since the German has raced at that level.

Speaking on the F1 Insider YouTube channel, journalist Ralf Bach was speaking about what he’s heard about the 37-year-old prospects of racing in Formula 1 again.

Bach has a close relationship with former Audi boss Andreas Seidl, and he has now been told that Vettel offered his services to the team for 2025.

Sauber have only signed one driver for next season – Nico Hulkenberg – and appear to be in no rush to confirm his teammate.

That may be because new boss Mattia Binotto is assessing several drivers who could make themselves available for next season.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel offered to drive for Sauber / Audi in 2025

Speaking about the situation at Audi, Bach said: “As far as Audi is concerned, I had a lot to do with Andreas Seidl, who unfortunately, in my opinion, was dismissed completely unfairly.

“He’s currently telling me that Sebastian has more or less offered to drive for him every now and then, but he was also of the opinion that he might have gone for too long and that he would rather look for other alternatives.

“So, it would be difficult for him.

“On the one hand, there is determination, on the other hand, there is a family man who has just been travelling with his family in a motorhome for what feels like half a year.”

Audi already ruling out drivers to race alongside Nico Hulkenberg in 2025

With just a few seats left to fill on the grid, Sauber is suddenly becoming an attractive prospect for drivers even though they haven’t scored a point this season.

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will both hope to be retained but Vettel making himself available shows just how attractive a prospect racing for Audi will be in 2026.

Red Bull junior Liam Lawson is no longer a candidate for the Sauber seat after initially being touted as a possibility.

Mick Schumacher is also in the mix although his time with Alpine’s WEC team gives him a chance to fill their second seat as well.

Binotto won’t be in a rush to decide his driver pairing for next year as they no longer face any competition from their rivals for any of the racers they’re considering unless Alpine suddenly look beyond Jack Doohan.

The temptation of hiring a former world champion may have appealed to Seidl, however, Binotto’s relationship with Vettel isn’t the best from their time together at Ferrari.