Sebastian Vettel fears for Red Bull's employees if his former team quits F1 at the end of the season.

Dietrich Mateschitz has threatened to leave the sport if he fails to secure a competitive engine deal for his teams, with Bernie Ecclestone saying he is in the dark regarding reports Ferrari has declined to supply Red Bull. Vettel - who won all four of his drivers' titles with Red Bull - says he feels for the team members whose futures are up in the air.

“What would it mean? I think for everyone it’s difficult to imagine if they’re not part of the grid next year," Vettel said. "So I hope somehow it will happen but it’s not my decision personally.

"With the history I have obviously I know the team inside out and I know a lot of good people there so it would be a shame for the drivers but also ultimately the people in the team if they end up with no job next year.”

While Vettel may not be racing against Red Bull next season, Lewis Hamilton has said he wants to be able to go wheel to wheel with the German and Vettel says the feeling is mutual.

“To be really close he obviously has a bit of margin at the moment. I think we are trying very hard and hopefully in the future we can be a lot closer. That’s the target. I wouldn’t mind, I think he’s one of the best drivers out there so it would be good to fight with him.”

Massa quickest in wet FP2 in Sochi

AS IT HAPPENED: Russian Grand Prix FP2

F1i technical expert Nicolas Carpentiers takes us through exclusive pictures of Renault's power unit

Click here for the F1 drivers' girlfriends gallery

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.

Recent Posts

Bearman gives harsh verdict on Sao Paulo stand-in

Oliver Bearman got quite the early morning wake-up call on Friday in Sao Paulo when…

4 hours ago

Red Bull still 'looking at the facts' regarding Perez's performance

While his team mate Max Verstappen thrilled the fans with a run from 17th on…

6 hours ago

Sad Colapinto laments two crashes in one day in Sao Paulo

Williams suffered a bruising time on Sunday in Sao Paulo, with Alex Albon unable to…

7 hours ago

McLaren: No regrets over timing of Norris pit stop in Sao Paulo GP

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about their…

8 hours ago

Williams' Boutsen hoists the mainsail in Adelaide

On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…

10 hours ago

Horner: Max 'answered critics' with epic Sao Paulo GP drive

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…

10 hours ago