Red Bull boss Christian Horner, Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack and former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto have all expressed their belief that retired four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel has what it takes to make the switch from driver to team manager, with the German being a “great people person”.
Over recent years, Vettel was often seen as a “driver counsellor”, with the 35-year-old having seemingly been the person to keep a ‘happy’ F1 family.
His three previous team principals have all explained why the 53-time Grand Prix winner would make a good team manager, with Horner admitting that Vettel is “annoyingly good at anything he chooses to do”.
“He’s a great people person,” said Horner.
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“He understands the value of people and the contribution that they make to success.
“And I think he’s turned into somewhat of a driver counsellor in the last couple of years as well.
“So, it really depends on what he wishes to apply himself to.
“He’s one of those guys that’s annoyingly good at anything he chooses to do. So I’m sure if he chooses that path he would be very good at it.”
Krack echoed what Vettel’s former Red Bull boss said and added that the German “has the personality” to return to F1 in a management position.
“I don’t know if he wants to do that, but I think he has the personality and all the skill… [that] I think the ones that are needed to do that,” Krack said.
“So I think he could be a good one, yeah.”
The general census from Horner and Krack is that more than anything else, Vettel is simply an incredible person, something former Ferrari boss Binotto saw first-hand during Vettel’s stint with the Italians.
Binotto explained that despite the German having not raced for the Scuderia since 2020, the team “are still loving him”, highlighting the impact he has on the people he works with.
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“At Ferrari, we have been lucky to have him as part of the team and it has been six important years,” said Binotto.
“He brought a lot as a driver but more than that, I think he brought a lot as a person – and each single Ferrari fan still loves Sebastian. I think that’s a matter of fact.
“I think… all the people in Ferrari are still loving him and that’s the way we are feeling. They have been incredible years, I think.”