Sebastian Vettel confirms "F1 is finished" for him as he sets sights on WEC

Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has confirmed that "F1 is finished" for him after rumours of a return to racing in the series.

The German driver retired from the championship at the end of the 2022 season, but this didn't stop rumours about a potential return from circulating. This was fuelled at the time of his retirement by fellow champion Lewis Hamilton, who claimed he would not be surprised if his former rival made a comeback. 

The seven-time champion also backed Vettel as an "amazing option" for Mercedes following his exit for Ferrari. “You’re always going to miss it,” Hamilton explained to the media at the time. “It’s the greatest sport in the world and it’s the greatest experience in the world. It’s the most amazing feeling to be working with a group of people towards winning something, achieving something.

“Probably there’s nothing that’s going to ever feel the same. I’ve not asked any of the drivers what they’re missing, but I can just imagine. But I would love for Seb to come back. I think he would be an amazing option for the team, to have a multi-world championship-winning driver, someone who’s got amazing values to continue to take this team forward.”

In addition to links to a driving return, Vettel has also reportedly been in talks with Red Bull, where he drove from 2009 to 2014 and secured his four championship titles, to potentially step into Marko's role.

During an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Vettel confirmed that his time racing in the series has come to an end, but didn't address the potential of a Red Bull advisory role.

"Formula 1 is finished," Vettel explained.

"At some point, the time will be ripe to leave the field to others. You can see that with the rookies. I think it's good that a whole bunch of them have now been replaced. It's not a vote against the old guys, but in favour of the young ones. In the past, I wasn't interested in which of the established riders no longer raced. The main thing was that I was allowed to drive."

Sebastian Vettel

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The former Red Bull driver suggested that the World Endurance Championship could be a good fit for him. 

"I don't want to rule out that something will come of it.

"There have been talks, but somehow it hasn't worked out yet. In the past, I honestly wasn't that interested in endurance racing from my perspective as a lone competitor. Today I see it differently. I find it totally exciting, this team structure, sharing a car, making compromises. In motorsport, it's hard to say: I only drive half the races.

"The WEC would actually be a good fit with its eight races, which are also staggered differently to Formula 1. It's always a question of how intensively you want to do something. For me, it's always been the case that I want to do it properly when I get involved in something. Just going along for the ride is not for me."