Sebastian Vettel moving to Mercedes for 2021 “would be a stunner” but “why not?” ex-Formula 1 driver Marc Surer says.
The future of the four-time world champion is uncertain currently after reports in Italy last week claimed he had rejected the first offer from Ferrari for a one-year contract extension.
As part of the deal though the Scuderia wanted to cut Vettel’s salary by 70 percent by 40million Euros to just 12million, with Surer, now a commentator for Swiss TV, suggesting Ferrari think the German has few options.
“Where is Vettel going? Ferrari knows exactly where he wants to go, so they have the upper hand in the negotiations,” he told Speed Week.
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“Vettel got a very lucrative contract with Ferrari at the time. It is clear that he will have to accept a loss. It is not a lack of appreciation, rather a high-level game of poker.”
Indeed, away from Maranello, Vettel has only been linked to a surprise move to McLaren in a possible swap deal with Carlos Sainz.
The British team though has insisted they want to keep their current drivers and Surer doesn’t why he’d want to go.
“If he wants to be world champion, he won’t move to McLaren,” he continued.
“It just takes too long there, especially because the new regulations have been postponed. They will make progress with the Mercedes engine, but I don’t think that they will fight for the title next year.”
It was then though he suggested a highly unlikely third team…
“Why not Mercedes?” Surer claimed. “I don’t know now if Lewis Hamilton would accept him as a teammate, but it would be a stunner.
“The traditional company would also have a German in the car again. When Nico Rosberg retired, it was bad news for the company.”
Naturally, the presence of Hamilton is already enough to rule out Vettel joining Mercedes but then there’s the salary aspect that would be another hurdle, as parent company Daimler try to cut costs.
Still, motorsport boss Toto Wolff has often voiced his support for the 32-year-old and just the thought of Vettel and Hamilton in the same team, with their combined 10 F1 titles, is quite something in itself.