Lewis Hamilton convinced Sebastian Vettel will return to F1

The 35-year-old four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel, will bid farewell after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday. It will undoubtedly be an emotional moment, but Lewis Hamilton already believes that the man who has won 53 Grand Prix races will find it difficult to resist the allure of Formula 1.

(I) “I’m sitting here accepting it, yes, it’s your last race, but you’ll come back,” Hamilton said during a press conference with Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel at the Yas Marina circuit. (I) “Formula 1 has a way of drawing you back in, and we’ve noticed it with so many other drivers, so… he came back, you’ll probably come back,” he added, referring to 41-year-old Fernando Alonso, who made his return to F1 last year. And who is moving from Alpine to Aston Martin to replace Vettel next season.”

Retirement, not such a new idea.

Father of three children, Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement before the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July, stating that his goals had changed and he wanted to focus on his family and other interests outside of sports. The German has already worked for the environmental cause and the defense of LGBTQ+ rights.

Speaking in the “Beyond the Grid” Formula 1 podcast on Wednesday, Vettel stated that the idea of retirement had been growing for some time and that he had initially resisted it. « To try to understand, at first, it grows within you, and as I said, it was a bit confusing because I had never felt it before, the desire to maybe stay at home, not take flights, not eagerly look forward to traveling », he said.

: « Obviously, after Ferrari’s move to Aston Martin, it’s the first time I really thought maybe it’s time to stop… », added the one who left Ferrari at the end of 2020.

If many fans hope that the German will make his return to the premier category someday, while another German manufacturer, Audi, is set to make its debut in F1 in 2026, the main interested party jokingly suggested that they could agree to some kind of exchange with Hamilton. The British driver, who will turn 38 in January, wishes to extend his contract with Mercedes. “We can make a deal…when you want to leave, maybe that’s when I’ll want to come back,” he replied, laughing.

Several comebacks in F1

Formula 1 has witnessed many comebacks over the seasons, after retirements or simply being sidelined for one or several seasons.

Michael Schumacher, a great hero and friend of Sebastian Vettel, thus made his comeback in the sport in 2010, at the age of 41, after a three-year retirement, to lead Mercedes’ return to F1.

Before him, another (very) great name in motor racing, the Austrian Niki Lauda, made his comeback at McLaren in the 1980s and then won his third title in 1984.

Of course, there is the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, mentioned above, but also, more recently, the return of the German Nico Hülkenberg, announced just this morning. The former Renault driver will be behind the wheel of the Haas left vacant by Mick Schumacher next year.

He will join another comeback driver, Kevin Magnussen, who returned to the American team after the dismissal of Nikita Mazepin following the invasion of Russia in Ukraine, after spending a season in endurance racing.