Vettel mulls potential F1 future away from Ferrari

With his current contract at Ferrari set to expire at the end of the current season, it's only natural that Sebastian Vettel is considering his next move.

The surprise is that the four-time world champion is being increasingly linked with a move away from Maranello in favour of one of the leading 'midfield' teams, with Renault and McLaren very much at the fore.

"He is a great driver and a great champion," Renault manager Cyril Abiteboul said this week when asked if Vettel could take over from Daniel Ricciardo in 2021. "I don't want to say no [to signing him in the future]."

Meanwhile an anonymous source told F1-Insider.com that McLaren principal Andreas Seidl could be interested in signing Vettel if he was available.

• Renault 'wouldn't say no' to Vettel if Ricciardo departs

"Seidl knows Vettel well from their time together at BWM. If Sebastian is to be had, he will certainly think about him," said the report.

Right now it still seems odds-on that Vettel will opt to extend his stay at Maranello, with Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto insisting that he wanted to keep Vettel and that a contract extension could be quickly agreed.

But whether that's what Vettel wants in the face of tough competition from team mate Charles Leclerc is another matter. However, giving up one of the best seats in F1 for a risky spot in the midfield would be a huge step.

“I don’t know, I can’t give you an answer to this question,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com when asked how he would feel about potentially not driving for one of the top teams. “I don’t really know.

"It depends on the situation," he explained. "If you find yourself fifteenth after having spent a life in eighteenth place, you seem to have reached the most beautiful thing in the world.

"When you start fighting for the top ten, finding yourself in the top five is exciting. But when you've spent the last ten years in the top five and then you find yourself fifteenth, the feeling can't be the same.

“Look at Kimi, for example," he continued, referring to his former Ferrari team mate who is now at Alfa Romeo. "He certainly can’t fight for victory now. I think he would like to do it, if he could choose to do it.

"I don’t think you can pretend nothing about your past, if you won a lot I think you want to win again," he suggested. "But in the end, if you are driven by passion, you find satisfaction and you can also have fun from the driving and racing alone."

Vettel made his F1 debut for BMW Sauber in 2007 and was immediately handed a full time race seat at Toro Rosso. “In Toro Rosso the first year we fought for the seventeenth or fifteenth position," he recalled. "We were not competitive enough.

“But the following year was incredible: we were able to fight for 12th place, then for tenth, then at the end of the season we were constantly in the top ten."

He went on to win the 2008 Italian Grand Prix which duly secured his elevation to sister squad Red Bull, with whom he won four back-to-back titles between 2010 and 2013.

But since his switch to Ferrari he's fallen on lean times. Last year he was beaten in the drivers championship not only by Leclerc and the two Mercedes stars, but also by his former team mate at Red Bull Max Verstappen.

“My goal is always the same, because we haven’t achieved it yet,” he said of his target of winning a fifth championship. "My goal is to win with Ferrari.

“Mercedes has beaten us in recent years, so the mission always remains the same," he added. “We have raced many races, I think there have been great moments as well as less good days."

Whatever he decides to do in the future, Vettel insists that the one thing that is definitely not a big factor in his thinking about where he goes in 2021 is the amount of money that arrives in his bank account on pay day.

“I think the real question to ask is: when does the money get enough?” he said. “At some point money stops being the most important thing, but there is always the desire to enjoy what you are doing.

“I don’t want to point the finger at anyone, mind you," he said, perhaps mindful of the eye-watering figures currently being reported in connection with Lewis Hamilton's contract extension negotiations with Mercedes.

"If money motivates you then fight for that. There are many men of sports and business driven by earnings," he acknowledged, before cautioning: "A lot of money is circulating, and money tends to ruin people.

"You have to see where you have your limit," he added. "This is the key for me."

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