Helmut Marko claims Sebastian Vettel asked ‘again and again’ to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull amidst F1 return rumors

Max Verstappen is on the brink of recreating Sebastian Vettel's championship run from 2010-13.

Helmut Marko claims Sebastian Vettel asked ‘again and again’ to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull amidst F1 return rumors

Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Helmut Marko (Via: Imago)

The F1 grid has been under quite a tussle ever since the commencement of the 2024 season. Lewis Hamilton‘s shocking move to Ferrari left Mercedes in a peculiar position, and rumors regarding Sebastian Vettel‘s return to the grid began circulating. However, these speculations reached a peak as Helmut Marko recently revealed that the German asked Red Bull time after time for a return back to Milton Keynes.

Sebastian Vettel joined the F1 grid in 2007 with backing from Red Bull since his karting days. The 36-year-old earned most of his fame with the Austrian outfit as he claimed four consecutive world championships between 2010-13. However, his prime days were long gone, and he decided to retire in 2022 and claimed it to be an opportunity to focus more on his family.

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Despite this, his racing DNA was unable to keep him away from racing altogether as he flirted with the idea of coming back to F1.

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He kept asking us. But next to [Max]Verstappen, I don't think it would be a pleasant time for him.
Helmut Marko said in an interview with Formula1.de

On the other hand, Helmut Marko revealed amidst Vettel’s rumors of moving to Brackley, that the latter even asked Red Bull for a return to his championship-winning alliance. However, he reckoned that next to Max Verstappen, he would not be able to perform at the Dutchman’s level. Thus, he closed the doors for a return to his former alliance.

Sebastian Vettel claims he misses Formula 1

The former four-time world champion had put in stellar performances in his early championship days. He was the driver every team wanted in their arsenal to fight for championships. Anyhow, as time passed, this soon changed and he left F1. But there is still a racer in the German’s blood as he claimed that he misses the F1 circus.

Sebastian Vettel (via imago)
Sebastian Vettel (via imago)

The former champion admitted that it was a tough call for him to walk away from the sport.

There’s lots of things that I miss, there’s also things that I don’t miss, so it’s always a give and take... So, it was a tough call when I made it. I was thinking about coming back and I knew beforehand that I will be thinking about it. But in the end, nothing has changed. I’m still happy with my decision.
Sebastian Vettel said in an interview with PlanetF1

The German elaborated that every decision has its pros and cons. So, it was a hard decision for him, and reckoned that he would always think of coming back, however, despite everything, he is content with his decision to retire.

Despite his claims, the driver market is quite volatile and a return of the German from his sabbatical may be on the cards. Thus, the next few weeks will bring more clarity as to which teams would sport which lineups and whether Vettel would make a comeback or not.

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