Mercedes could ignore the possible “headaches” and put Sebastian Vettel next to Lewis Hamilton for 2021, Red Bull’s Christian Horner claims.
The four-time world champion is of course currently without a drive for next year, after mutually agreeing to part ways with Ferrari at the end of this season.
As it stands, only Renault appears a potential option for next year, but there have been rumblings that Mercedes’ parent company Daimler could be keen to sign Vettel, to have a German driver racing for the German brand.
“He’s still in his early 30s, he’s still phenomenally quick and maybe Mercedes will fancy the headache of having him and Lewis together,” Horner said, speaking on the F1 Unscripted YouTube interview.
“It would be great for all of us to see and witness, but from a team point of view that would be a lot to take on.”
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The Red Bull boss though believes only Vettel himself will decide what his next move will be and if it’s retirement then so be it.
“Sebastian is a very deep thinker,” Horner said of his former driver. “He will have given this a huge amount of thought, I’ve got no doubt about that.
“What he’s achieved in his career is phenomenal so if he were to decide that there’s not a competitive drive available to him at the end of this year and he called it a day [he can].
“He could even take a year out if he wanted.
“But he has a young family, he’s one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport. He’s a great driver and as I say, I’m sure he’s given this a lot of thought, and all we can do is wish him the best,” he added.
“I think Formula 1 will be worse off if he’s not there, but you have to respect his decision.”
