For Sebastian Vettel, age is just a number, and the four-time world champion believes that at 33 he is "not too old" to add another title to his track record. If the circumstances are right.
Although many believed the German driver would ride into the sunset at the end of the last year after Ferrari declined to extend Vettel's contract, the 53-time Grand Prix winner opted to remain on the grid and to take up a new challenge with Aston Martin Racing.
The Silverstone-based outfit is unlikely to fight for the title this year, but team owner Lawrence Stroll's three to five-year plan is to position Aston firmly among the sport's front-runners as a championship contender.
Only time will tell if Vettel remains with his new team long enough to potentially reap the benefits of Aston's projected run to the summit. But the German believes he still has it in him to win another championship.
"I think I have, obviously I’m not too old," he said. "There’s now older drivers joining the grid, rather than younger drivers.
"I don’t think it’s an age thing, I think it’s a question of do you have the car and the team around you?
"I think it’s in me. It’s been in me and was probably a big relief, winning the world championship, knowing that you can do it. Since then, I don’t really see why that’s not there any more.
"Age-wise, I think I still have a long time in me, but in all honesty, it depends a little bit on the circumstances of how things are going in the near future."
Aston Martin remains a customer team relative to Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. But when asked if such a status represented a perennial handicap for his team, one that would always preclude it from winning the world title, Vettel dismissed such a notion.
"I'm not worried about that, I think your fears are old school," Vettel said. "The world has moved on. I think in the past, probably you were right.
"With somebody like Mercedes [Aston's engine supplier], I think we can trust that you get a very fair treatment. And if you are faster, then you are allowed to beat them.
"As I said, this sort of mindset is way out of date. As a principle. I see where you're coming from, but I'm not worried.
"If we are very, very close to Mercedes, that is a very good achievement. So it will be the last thing I would worry about."
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