Vettel sets F1 fans' tongues wagging with Verstappen team-mate admission

27 September 2023 , 16:43

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Could Sebastian Vettel one day return to the F1 grid? (Image: AP)

Sebastian Vettel gave a coy response when asked if he felt he could beat Max Verstappen if he makes a sensational Formula 1 comeback.

The four-time world champion retired from the sport at the end of last season. But he admitted it "hurt" him to watch the action from the sidelines as he attended last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix.

And Vettel has also recently refused to rule out a return to the sport one day. "I can't say no, because that you don't know... I can't exclude it," he replied when asked that very question.

The bulk of Vettel's F1 success, including all four of his titles, came while racing for Red Bull. Verstappen is top dog there now – the Dutchman is on the brink of his third championship success and is only five career race wins behind the German's total.

Vettel knows he would not be able to immediately pose a threat to Verstappen if he were to race against him. But he pointed out that even the Dutchman is not invincible as he suggested that, given enough time to settle back in, he would back himself to give the champion a run for his money.

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"Not like that, because that's how good he is and that's just not how it works for any one of us," he said when posed that question by Channel 4. "But, of course, I believe in and know what I can do and maybe what I can't do. I think I'm very different to him but, obviously, I'm convinced that everybody is beatable.

"But it is a big commitment. I know also the way I like to do the sport is a huge commitment, and if I do something, I want to do it properly. So I wouldn't be able to beat him just turning up and dropping my bag in the room, getting my kit on and, 'Let's have a go'. I don't think that's how it works."

Whether or not Vettel does end up making a return to full-time racing remains to be seen. He has been linked with a switch to the World Endurance Championship, which could see him team up with fellow former F1 drivers Jenson Button and Robert Kubica at Le Mans.

If he does try to return to F1 then, speaking from his own personal experience, Fernando Alonso has warned the German that it will not be an easy adjustment. "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.," said the Spaniard.

"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."

Daniel Moxon