Vettel had talks with Mercedes halfway through Ferrari tenure

Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he held tentative talks with Mercedes halfway through his period with Ferrari.

Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015 after a remarkable six-year run of success with Red Bull during which the now retired German driver clinched his four world championships in F1.

Vettel had high expectation of his partnership with the Scuderia and while the collaboration yielded 14 Grands Prix wins, the German failed to bring the world title back to Maranello, with Vettel finishing nevertheless twice runner up behind arch-rival Lewis Hamilton, in 2017 and 2018.

But speaking on F1's Beyond the Grid podcast last month, Vettel revealed that half-way through his Ferrari residency, an informal contact was established between Mercedes and himself through the team's non-executive chairman Niki Lauda to gauge the sentiment on both sides.

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"Maybe there was [a chance], I spoke with Niki," Vettel said. "But to be honest, it was halfway through the Ferrari period.

"Obviously it would have been a big deal, because Lewis was their number one, and I’m not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team."

Read also: Vettel admiring of Alonso but 'we've never had any chemistry'

However, Vettel admitted that his heart was still very much entrenched at Ferrari. Talks with Mercedes were therefore not really "serious".

"I also didn’t have great interest at that time, because I was so committed to Ferrari," he said.

"That was my dream to make that thing work so you talk to each other but it wasn’t really serious.

"I think it would have been a great challenge and I think I would have enjoyed that but it just wasn’t meant to be.

"My focus was to win with Ferrari. I didn’t want to change team and win with Mercedes, but it just didn’t happen. I am cool with that.

"I think I would have enjoyed racing with Lewis, we get along really well, and our moment was the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where we had maybe what you would call nowadays a ‘misunderstanding!’"

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.