Mercedes boss Toto Wolff accepts there would be positives in signing Sebastian Vettel for 2021.
The four-time world champion is currently without a seat next year after it was confirmed this week he would be leaving Ferrari and replaced by Carlos Sainz.
At this point, Vettel’s options appear limited to either Renault or retirement, but the potential of teaming up alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes also can’t be completely ruled out.
And Wolff, who is a fan and friend of Sebastian, admits he ticks the right boxes.
“Of course, a German driver in a German car is a good marketing story,” he said talking on Austrian TV broadcaster ORF.
“We are exclusively focused on success and Sebastian is of course someone who is really good. He pulls all the strings. He can decide for himself whether he wants to quit or join another team. There are still some interesting places to go.”
A tendency for errors has led to questions over whether Vettel still has what it takes to compete at the very front of F1.
But one of his former team bosses, AlphaTauri chief Franz Tost, believes the 32-year-old is still more than capable of further success.
“The end of something always means the start of something,” he told Formula1.com. “It really depends on what seat he gets. To fight for a championship, Sebastian Vettel is a driver of the calibre who can do this.
“He needs to get a seat in the first three teams. Then he has a real chance to win races and another championship. I know Sebastian quite well, and that is for sure his main target.
“He is not a driver who just wants to be on the starting grid. If we’re doing a race now, he wants to win a race. It depends on the ingredients he will get together to achieve the goal.
“From the financial side, I don’t think he needs to continue racing, but drivers who have won championships, they don’t think so much of the money. Their motivation is to win races, to be successful. That’s the motivation, not the money,” he added.
“He’s only 32 years old, he’s a very high-skilled driver, and if he gets the correct package, if he’s sitting in a Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes, he’s still able to win races, and I’m also quite sure he can win another championship – it depends on which team he can drive for.”
Whether Vettel is a realistic option for Mercedes or not for 2021, Wolff did conclude by admitting he won’t be doing what Ferrari & McLaren did this week by making a decision this early in the year.
“At least we are not going to put ourselves in that position. It’s a bit difficult to manage if you have a driver next season, while next year he will be in a rival team,” he said.
“We’re looking at what we’re going to do with George Russell and then there’s a Vettel turn. But this is not on the highest place on the agenda at the moment, we want to concentrate on our own team first.”
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