Sebastian Vettel does believe he can still win a fifth Formula 1 championship with the right team.
Some thought the German was set to match and potentially surpass Michael Schumacher’s total of seven after winning his fourth at the age of just 26 in 2013.
Instead, since then, it was Lewis Hamilton who capitalised on Mercedes’ dominance to win six titles in seven years and join Michael on that mark.
That success scuppered Vettel’s dream of winning the championship with Ferrari and in recent years, poor performance has led to questions over whether the 33-year-old still has it to win again in F1?
“I think I have, obviously I’m not too old,” he said. “There’s now older drivers joining the grid, rather than younger drivers.
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“I don’t think it’s an age thing, I think it’s a question of do you have the car and the team around you?
“I think it’s in me. It’s been in me and was probably a big relief, winning the first world championship, knowing that you can do it. Since then, I don’t really see why that’s not there any more.
“Age-wise, I think I still have a long time in me, but in all honesty, it depends a little bit on the circumstances of how things are going in the near future.”
While Vettel is set to start a new chapter of his career at Aston Martin this season, he was recently asked if the two currently empty seats at Mercedes for 2022 held any interest?
“Obviously I don’t know his plans, I just heard he signed a contract for a year,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, referring to Hamilton.
“As for me, my home is here now [at Aston Martin], and we are all very busy because we have a big challenge ahead of us.
“There are a lot of things we have to deal with, so I don’t have any other thoughts right now.”
Vettel though is close friends with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, and after suggestions he played a role in Seb getting his new seat, the Austrian is backing him to perform.
“Sebastian has been in a downward spiral in recent years where, in my opinion, the interpersonal relationship with Ferrari was a big factor,” he told Sky Deutschland.
“I am convinced that he still has this capability. He is really young, at the beginning of his 30s, with an incredible amount of experience.
“You forget that he was the youngest world champion at Red Bull, so I’m convinced that we can see Sebastian again, the one we not only had in the Red Bull years, but also the Sebastian who was really strong in the first Ferrari period and our main competitor.”