Sebastian Vettel refused to rule out a return to F1 when questioned concerning the chance of a dramatic comeback.
The four-time world champion retired on the finish of the 2022 season after two years of frustration at Aston Martin.
The finale to his keep within the sport was a far-cry from the glory years, particularly with Red Bull with 4 straight titles from 2010-2013, in addition to championship tilts with Ferrari.
But Vettel, 36, admits he “can’t exclude” the prospect of a return sooner or later, when requested by Sky F1’s Martin Brundle whether or not he would return to the grid in the same method to the likes of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.
“I can’t say no, because that you don’t know,” the German stated.
“I think it’s something that if you asked all of them, probably some of them would have said ‘no’. And some of them I don’t know, but in the end all of them came back, so I can’t exclude it.
“It most likely will rely a lot on when, and clearly it’s not countless, as a result of 36 shouldn’t be like, ‘yeah in 10 years’ time’.
“Maybe I think about it then time has passed but it will depend on the challenge, whatever, but it’s not in my head right now.”
A 53-time race winner, Vettel made his F1 debut in 2007 before claiming his first victory at Monza with Toro Rosso in 2008.
Sebastian Vettel secured his fourth world title in 2013
(Getty Images)
Yet his last three seasons in the sport – one with Ferrari, two with Aston Martin – saw him finish 13th, 12th and 12th again in the Driver Standings, though did see him take on roles as a climate activist and LGBTQ+ rights campaigner.
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“I’m having fun with the type of outlook of the problem of what to do subsequent,” Vettel added. “It would be the manner I see it, the largest problem for any racing driver and the largest problem for any sportsman, sportswoman, what do you do after?
“Because naturally you will be like 30-35, 40-45 – depending on your sport and discipline. And then what?
“There’s a number of life left and life might be nice despite the fact that you’re not racing, you recognize, absolutely the restrict within the quickest automotive on the earth, however you’ll be able to nonetheless do a number of nice issues that provide you with nice pleasure.”
Vettel was talking to Sky forward of this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, the place the German received his last race of his F1 profession in 2019.
