“I think I would have enjoyed racing with Lewis,” Sebastian Vettel reveals he did have talks with Niki Lauda regarding shift to Mercedes
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As a four-time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel knows what it is like to be in-demand in the Formula 1 Drivers’ Market. The German has been with the biggest names in the sport, having achieved his back-to-back World titles with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, and then having moved to Ferrari, following the footsteps of the legendary Michael Schumacher. Thus, Vettel has driven for two of the top 3 F1 teams in the current motorsports era, but he missed out on a chance to be recruited by Mercedes.
In a recent interview, Sebastian Vettel revealed that he did have talks with Mercedes for a possible partnership with Lewis under the umbrella of the German team, but they never materialized into an actual contract. The 35-year-old, who recently chose to step back from his role as a regular driver in Formula 1, talked about his missed opportunity as he would have like to drive for a team that hails from the same country as him, and he would have enjoyed racing beside Lewis Hamilton–one of his biggest competitors and closest friends in the grid.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are contemporaries when it comes to F1 as they both started their careers in the highest league of motorsports in roughly the same time. The two have won a total of eleven World Championship titles between them, and have had a healthy competition that yielded into mutual respect for one another. When Vettel announced his retirement, Lewis Hamilton even said that he would miss having him at the F1 paddocks. Now, Sebastian Vettel is clarifying that fans might have seen the two of them in the same team if his talks with Mercedes were successful.
Sebastian Vettel blames the timing of his contract talks with Mercedes to be the reason why he never joined the team
According to Sebastian Vettel, Mercedes had approached him for a possible contract which would have resulted in his stint as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at the Stuttgart-based outfit. He had the talks with Mercedes’ then-Non-Executive Chairman Niki Lauda. He said, “Maybe there was [an opportunity, and] I spoke with Niki, but to be honest, it was halfway through the Ferrari period.”
He also said, “Obviously it would have been a big deal, because Lewis was their number one, and I’m not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team. But I also didn’t have great interest at that time, because I was so committed to Ferrari. I think I would have enjoyed racing with Lewis, we get along really well.”
Sebastian Vettel’s future in motorsports is hazy at its best right now. The German has not hinted at what assignments he will be taking on now that he has retired from Formula 1. According to the rumor mill, he has had multiple offers from Formula E and IndyCar, but none of the contract talks have materialized into an official deal. Thus, everything is up in the air about Vettel’s career at the moment, but fans are guessing that he will soon release some official news.
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Riddhi Mondal
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