Scuderia AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost, who mentored Sebastian Vettel during his first year in F1, is convinced the German can add another title to his credentials.
The news of Vettel's departure from Ferrari at the end of this season has opened questions about the four-time world champion's future.
With opportunities to stay in the sport beyond 2020 in short supply, many see Vettel heading into the sunset at the end of the year rather than remaining on the grid at all costs by accepting a midfield drive with Renault.
However, Tost is convinced Vettel can still race with the best and target another title, but the Austrian adds one big caveat to that opinion.
"The end of something always means the start of something," Tost told Formula1.com.
"It really depends on what seat he gets. To fight for a championship, Sebastian Vettel is a driver of the calibre who can do this.
"He needs to get a seat in the first three teams. Then he has a real chance to win races and another championship. I know Sebastian quite well, and that is for sure his main target.
"He’s only 32 years old, he’s a very high-skilled driver, and if he gets the correct package, [if] he’s sitting in a Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes, he’s still able to win races, and I’m also quite sure he can win another championship – it depends on which team he can drive for."
Red Bull's Helmut Marko has already dismissed a return of Vettel to the team for which he delivered his four titles.
As for Mercedes, while Toto Wolff has said that hiring the Ferrari driver is an option that is "on the table", the Austrian also made clear that such a possibility isn't at the top of his priorities where it comes to deciding the team's driver line-up for 2021.
"From the financial side, I don’t think he [Vettel] needs to continue racing, but drivers who have won championships, they don’t think so much of the money," added Tost.
"Their motivation is to win races, to be successful. That’s the motivation, not the money.
"He is not a driver who just wants to be on the starting grid. If we’re doing a race now, he wants to win a race. It depends how the ingredients he will get together to achieve the goal."
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