Vettel Put Forward As 'Good Choice' For Mercedes In Short Term

Saturday, 10 February 2024 at 12:00

Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard discussed the possibility of seeing Sebastian Vettel back in F1 by replacing the seven-time World Champion in Mercedes.

Now that it is clear that Lewis Hamilton will be leaving Mercedes for Ferrari at the of the 2024 season, it is clear Mercedes will need to search for a suitable replacement.

Drivers like Alex Albon or Fernando Alonso have been proposed as possible options, but former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan suggested he would go for the retired Sebastian Vettel. He said on the Formula for Success podcast.

"I have to say, in the short term, I would look at Vettel. Because we know these cars are not as difficult to drive as in your day and in my day when you needed a neck the size of a wine barrel."

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Although he has already retired, Vettel is "only" 36 years old" at the moment. In comparison, Hamilton turned 39 at the beginning of this year, and Alonso is 42.

"I think that Vettel has to be in the frame because of the German contact. I mean, we know what happened with Michael [Schumacher] before. He left Ferrari. Where did he go to? He went to Mercedes."

Mercedes might need an experienced and successful driver as a replacement for the seven-time World Champion, and there aren't many drivers that compare to Vettel on the current F1 grid. Jordan added:

"If it was me, and the way Formula 1 is progressing, I would look at Vettel. I think its a good choice. It makes sense for Mercedes, the German driver in the car."

To see a return of the four-time World Champion back into Formula 1 would be an incredible story. Moreover, the co-host of the Formula for Success podcast, David Coulthard, suggested that the German driver is completely opposed to the idea of return.

"Vettel, I did an event with him at Nurburgring last year, and we drove a couple of the old Red Bulls, the V8s. And he was very much of conversation that he is not closed to racing again and that he still felt in a way that there still was an unfinished business for him in F1."