Sebastian Vettel says he would “probably” accept the chance to return to Red Bull from Ferrari in 2021.
On Thursday, a report on Germany’s Motorsport-Total.com claimed Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has ordered his advisor Helmut Marko to re-sign the man who four world titles with the company between 2010-2013.
Of course, in doing so, it would mean Vettel going up against Max Verstappen creating the potential for the same scenario the 33-year-old is currently facing at Ferrari.
But, given his history with Red Bull, that is a situation Sebastian would accept.
“Generally I’m of the conviction that if you want to win you have to be happy to take on anyone,” he said at the Red Bull Ring on Thursday ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix.
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“I know the team very, very well from my past, so of course I am still in contact with a lot of people there whether Christian [Horner, Team Principal], Helmut or others.
“Red Bull has a winning car, they are a very strong team. I know how strong they are from the past.
“It’s not fair to say I know the team inside out because it has also changed and moved on, but I know why they were strong back then and they are still an F1 contender and it’s a car that you can win races in, so for sure that would be interesting.”
Then asked directly if he would accept a Red Bull seat for 2021, Vettel, who does believe he has more to achieve in F1, replied: “It’s a winning car and as I said earlier, I’m here to compete, I’m here to win, so probably the answer would be yes.”
In an interview this week on ServusTV, Verstappen appeared open to the idea of forming what may would consider a dream-team for the company with Vettel.
But when he wasn’t in the same room as the 33-year-old, that quickly changed.
“I was just trying to be polite and nice by saying I could imagine it,” the Dutchman said via Formula1.com.
“I think at the moment the team is very happy with both of us and I am really happy with Alex as a teammate. He’s, first of all, a very nice guy in the team, which is good for everyone.
“He’s good with setups, so we both give good feedback to the team and he’s a fast guy. So I don’t think there is any reason to change, and I think Christian and Helmut can back that up. It’s also not up to me to decide these things.”
As for the alternatives Vettel has, he revealed contact was made with Renault over the seat now taken by Fernando Alonso for 2021 and also addressed lingering links with a possible Racing Point seat for their rebrand as Aston Martin next year.
“I think Racing Point left a very strong impression, and certainly are in a good place for this year,” he said.
“I know part of the team, I know some members of the team quite well from my past and for a long time, so I think it’s obviously a good opportunity for them this year to have a good car to fight with and try and improve from there.”
Previously, the Silverstone-based squad has ruled out Vettel, with Sergio Perez signed until the end of 2022 and Lance Stroll always likely to have a seat at his father’s team.
However… “It’s flattering to have people make those kind of rumours around a four-time world champion and I think it was rumoured that Alonso was also interested as well,” CEO Otmar Szafnauer told Sky Germany.
“It is flattering but right now what we’re focused on is racing well, having a good season and what we do next year there’s still time to decide.
“I’ve been friends with Sebastian since he was young so I’m always talking to him.
“We still have time to decide.”
