Fernando Alonso warns Sebastian Vettel over F1 comeback amid Japanese GP plan

22 September 2023 , 05:00

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Sebastian Vettel is at Suzuka building insect hotels at the track (Image: Getty Images)

Fernando Alonso warned Sebastian Vettel not to underestimate the challenge he will face if he decides to revive his Formula 1 career.

It comes after Vettel refused to rule out the possibility that he will one day try to return to the grid. The four-time world champion retired at the end of last season, at the age of 36.

As well as his desire to devote more time to his passions away from F1, such as his environmental work, Vettel also pointed to his wife and children as a major reason. The demands of the modern calendar are not compatible with a wish to spend a significant amount of time with family.

Still, though, he has not completely closed the door to a return. Now 36, Vettel said earlier this month: "I can't say no, because that you don't know... I can't exclude it."

Alonso knows exactly what it's like to return to F1 having spent time away. He left after a terrible stint with McLaren at the end of the 2018 campaign and was off the grid for two seasons, racing in other series, before returning in 2021 with Alpine.

Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"

He took Vettel's place at Aston Martin and has enjoyed a new lease of life this year. Now aged 42, has spearheaded the team's charge and currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings, ahead of both Ferrari racers, George Russell and Lando Norris.

But, he has warned Vettel, there is no guarantee that a return to the F1 grid away will ever be smooth. He said: "I was not in the interview or the conversation, so sometimes we read the headline, and you don't know exactly what it comes from and what the tone of the answers.

Vettel was greeted by F1 drivers and team bosses from up and down the paddock (AP)

"So, it's up to him obviously if he thinks about [it], as I said, I think when Daniel [Ricciardo] came back it is [was] a challenge. It cannot be underestimated. Going back to F1, it could be a challenge for sure."

Vettel is in the Suzuka paddock this weekend, visiting the track he has described as his favourite in F1. He combined his love for the circuit with his passion for protecting the environment by helping to build 11 insect hotels on the inside of turn two, with a special focus on providing a home for bees.

He said: "It's very different and the reason for that is because together with Buzzin' Corner we are racing for biodiversity. With this project, I want to create awareness around the importance and subject of biodiversity. We all know one insect that is very famous, and it's the bee... It's a perfect ambassador for this project and idea to highlight the importance of biodiversity because it stands not just for the bee, it stands for all the other insects."

Daniel Moxon