Sebastian Vettel insists he won’t be “running away” from Ferrari early despite any unhappiness at the circumstances of his looming exit.
The four-time world champion revealed earlier this month that, contrary to what the Italian team had said, it was team boss Mattia Binotto’s sole decision, not a joint call, to part ways at the end of 2020 when his current contract ends.
Vettel also admitted that at the time he was “surprised” by the call because all signs before then had been that he would be staying on for 2021 at least.
Still, commenting on how that played out, he says he holds no grudges against Ferrari, even if the situation could have been handled differently.
“I generally move on,” he told Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle in Hungary. “A decision is a decision and I’m a professional in that regard and I take, I have to take any decision.
“But obviously… you know the way, it could have may been a bit different, but it is what it is.”
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To make matters worse, Vettel’s last year at Ferrari is set to be dominated by underperformance with the team currently fifth in the Constructors’ standings with just 27 points from the first three races.
But the 33-year-old promises to keep pushing as hard as ever has.
“As I’ve said, that’s the truth and I feel a lot of… this is a big team and a big brand and a lot of people have given so much, invested their time, their passion in the cars and I drove one of the cars in the last years,” he said.
“So I feel like, whatever might be my feeling about it, I own them respect and give them everything I can and try to have the best season that we can despite the difficult situations.”
Therefore, when it comes to suggestions Vettel may not even see out the full season at Ferrari, he soon rejected them.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I’m not running away from it.
“I think I have something to prove mostly to myself, and that’s what I’m here for. A lot of guys in the team have given so much to me in the last couple of years. And just out of respect, I want to give that support back and bring it to a worthy end.
“So I’m not at all even considering running away.”
Vettel is currently linked to a move to Racing Point when it is rebranded as Aston Martin from 2021.
