Feature

Who's in pole position to succeed Vettel at Ferrari?

What does Vettel have planned?

On the one hand, it shouldn't be a big shock that Sebastian Vettel has decided to call time on his tenure with Ferrari. We even suggested as much last month in our feature on Vettel's future. But on the other hand, having it actually confirmed in black and white has left everyone reeling.

The big question now is what Vettel will do next. He's already been linked to job offers from both McLaren and Renault, and presumably that involves some big money being dangled before his eyes by management at Woking and Enstone. But Vettel has already said that "financial matters have played no part in this joint decision" to leave Ferrari.

Vettel's stated ambition was always to win a fifth title with Ferrari. That's not going to happen now.

Vettel also stated that the current coronavirus-induced hiatus of all motorsport has "led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life" and added: "I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future." That doesn't sound like someone contemplating a simple straightforward change of teams on the grid.

Having won four world championships, his stated ambition since then has always been to win a fifth with Ferrari. That's not going to happen now (unless the shortened 2020 season finishes with a fairytale flourish) so what reason does Vettel have to remain in F1 when he could be at home, mowing the lawn and spending time with his young family?

In our view, it's looking increasingly as though Vettel may indeed be quitting motor racing altogether and starting on a new phase of his life. In which case, we wish him the very best in his endeavours.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.