The utopia of Sebastian Vettel’s return to F1 with a German team: Audi

Sebastian Vettel’s hopes of returning to Formula 1 are falling by the wayside. While rumors of his return to F1 had emerged last week, Audi revealed that they did not want to field two German drivers for the 2025 season, thus closing the door on the dreams of the four-time world champion.

A desire to come back with Audi

Sebastian Vettel, who retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season, had been linked to a comeback in the sport with Audi. According to the information that had been shared, the German driver would have offered his services to the team, which is still looking for its second driver alongside Nico Hülkenberg. It was in a YouTube video from the media F1-Insider that the journalist Ralf Bach shared the news.

Longtime friend with Andreas Seidl, director for Audi’s F1 project until two weeks ago, it is thanks to him that he learned the news. Regarding Audi, I had a lot of contacts with Andreas Seidl, who, unfortunately in my opinion, was dismissed in a totally unfair manner. He recently told me that Sebastian had more or less offered to drive for him from time to time, but he also thought that he might have been away for too long and that he would prefer to explore other options, he said. So, it would be difficult for him. On one hand, there is determination, and on the other hand, there is a father who has just spent what seems to be close to six months traveling in a motorhome with his family.

So far, the rumors have not been confirmed by either the principal party concerned or the team, raising questions about the reliability of this information. Moreover, Sebastian Vettel himself had expressed in the past the desire to step away from Formula 1 to focus on his family. While the option was not necessarily to be ruled out, Audi has definitively put an end to any speculation surrounding the German driver.

No second German driver in the team

Audi recently secured the services of Nico Hülkenberg, currently a driver for Haas, by signing a multi-year contract with him. With only one of the two seats available for 2025, rumors about the driver’s teammate have been abundant. Sebastian Vettel, whose interest in a return to the grid was suspected, was considered a potential candidate. However, a recent interview suggests that this is no longer an option.

As reported by the Swiss-German newspaper Blick, Audi would not be willing to let two Germans compete in 2025. With a stance against a German duo, it is not only Sebastian Vettel’s chances of a comeback that are shattered, but also those of the young driver Mick Schumacher. Currently engaged in Endurance with Alpine, he was looking for an opportunity to return to the sport full-time. At the end of 2022, he was sidelined by Haas and replaced by his potential teammate Nico Hülkenberg. According to reports, it will be the drivers currently on the grid who will have the privilege.

Valtteri Bottas, who is already with Sauber, is at the top of the list. He posted on social media a few days ago an image showing his number (77) on an Audi car, which fueled rumors. Even though the idea of Sebastian Vettel’s return delighted fans, in reality, another obstacle would have arisen at Audi. During the 2020 period, Sebastian Vettel, who was racing for Ferrari, had been publicly sidelined from the team under the leadership of Mattia Binotto. If the Italian is now leading the Audi project, this could have been a hindrance to their collaboration even before the rumors surfaced.

For now, the hopes of the four-time world champion to make a comeback in Formula 1 seem to have reached a deadlock. His return, which had sparked joy among fans, is unlikely to happen anytime soon with only a few spots left on the grid. If his future in Formula 1 is not definitively over, we will have to wait for more spots to become available just to consider it.