What former Sebastian Vettel colleague thinks about chances of F1 comeback

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A former colleague of F1 legend Sebastian Vettel has shared whether she thinks he could sensationally come out of retirement.

Vettel’s recent test in a Porsche hypercar has sparked speculation that he’s considering a return to racing.

And Bernie Collins, who worked as the chief strategist at Aston Martin during Vettel’s time at the team, has reacted to the rumours on The Fast and the Curious Podcast.

Four-time world champion Vettel hung up his helmet at the end of the 2022 season.

He won all of his titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, then left to join Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season.

The German threatened to challenge the dominance of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes in 2017 and 2018, but ultimately fell away.

In 2020, the Scuderia decided to drop Vettel in favour of McLaren driver Carlos Sainz.

He subsequently joined Aston, where he spent his final two years before retiring.

However, Ferrari have now axed Sainz too to make room for Vettel’s former rival Hamilton.

There’s consequently a seat available at Mercedes for the 2025 season.

Vettel certainly wouldn’t be the first world champion to come out of retirement, with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso both doing so in the last 15 years.

Bernie Collins thinks Vettel would accept Mercedes offer

Collins suspects Vettel would be drawn to the idea of returning to the front of the F1 grid.

He left an Aston Martin team that finished down in seventh in the constructors’ championship, but a top seat could re-energise him.

At 36, Vettel is still younger than Hamilton (39) and Alonso (42), and he’s also the same age as Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.

Collins said: “I think he would [come back into Formula 1].

“All of them have that drive within them, and all of them have been doing this for the past x number of years – not even their F1 career, their karting career, their junior career. They’ve been doing it for so long.

“He stepped away a year and a half ago – unless you very quickly fill that void, I imagine there’s that slight pull-back.

“If someone says ‘you can get in this reasonably fast car for a year’, he’d be like ‘yeah’.

“Unfortunately he was racing in an Aston Martin, the car wasn’t performing as expected.

“He was trying to prioritise his home life, his kids.

“If you were then given an opportunity to get in a car that you know is going to hit the ground running, maybe.”

What Vettel thinks about Hamilton joining Ferrari

Vettel faced the media this week and offered his reaction to Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Ferrari.

He says he didn’t believe the news at first but got in touch with his old adversary to offer congratulations when he learned it was true.

But the 53-time race winner also warned him that would it be ‘difficult’ to adapt after spending the past decade at Mercedes.

As for his own future, Vettel said he remained in contact with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, but insisted he hadn’t spoken to him about potentially succeeding Hamilton.

With more than half the grid out of contract for 2024, there may be opportunities elsewhere if he does wish to return.