Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has raised doubts about whether former racing driver Sebastian Vettel will return to Formula 1 shortly after his retirement “to work more for less pay.”
There has been some suggestion that Vettel could be back in the paddock as a pundit or in a management role only a few months after retiring from the grid.
Marko who will celebrate his 80th birthday this week, has rejected suggestion he is set to step aside to allow Vettel to join Red Bull in his role.
“We may well see a surprise comeback of Sebastian Vettel this year, but it won’t be as a driver,” Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz said.
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“I kind of think he will come back to Red Bull. I think he will replace Helmut Marko, that is more likely. As the sort of motorsport advisor.”
While Vettel hasn’t addressed the rumours, Marko has responded to the possibility he could be about to be replaced.
“We are still in contact,” Marko told Blick.
“Seb is still in the self-discovery phase at the moment. I don’t think he wants to travel to every race again and work more with significantly less pay!”
There has been speculation that, if not Red Bull, Vettel could be being lined up as the next team principal for AlphaTauri, taking over from Franz Tost, who is set to retire in the next few years.
On the other hand, AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda has been supportive of the potential Formula 1 legend’s return to the Red Bull junior team, claiming it would be “really interesting” to see Vettel share his wealth of experience with a new generation.
“That would be really interesting to see how Sebastian would be as a team manager,” Tsunoda said.
“He can be anything. For example, what Helmut Marko is doing now with Red Bull juniors.
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“I think Sebastian would also be very good at taking care of Red Bull juniors because he’s one of the most successful drivers in Formula 1.”
Vettel could be the new voice that AlphaTauri needs to revive the team’s performance on the grid, as they struggle to achieve the success that Red Bull craves from its sister squad.
If AlphaTauri doesn’t start scoring the points that Red Bull believes it is capable of, it has been suggested that the team could be sold or relocated.