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LONDON (Reuters) – Sebastian Vettel’s dream of emulating Michael Schumacher by winning multiple Formula One titles with Ferrari finally ended on Tuesday.
It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if the four-time world champion finally walks away from the sport entirely at the end of COVID-19’s successful 2020 season without increasing his championship score.
The 32-year-old German, who won his drivers’ crowns with Red Bull from 2010-13, hinted at that possibility in a Ferrari statement announcing his departure after five years at Maranello.
Schumacher won five of his seven record titles with the Italian team, but those days are gone and Vettel, one of the highest-paid drivers, so far has only 14 wins for Ferrari to his credit.
The new coronavirus crisis has also changed the sports and financial landscape.
“What has been happening in recent months has led many of us to reflect on what our real priorities are in life,” said Vettel, who was isolating at his home in Switzerland while Italy was locked up.
“You need to use your imagination and take a new approach to a situation that has changed. I’ll take the time myself to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future,” added the father of three children.
Vettel had been in talks about a contract extension and his chances of getting another unit in a winning car now appear to be limited.
Champions Mercedes and Red Bull are the only teams other than Ferrari to have won races since the era of the 1.6-liter V6 turbo hybrid began in 2014, and the rules remain the same until 2022.
While six-time Mercedes world champion Lewis Hamilton has been linked to Ferrari, his recent comments have indicated that he intends to remain with the dominant team for the past six seasons.
Hamilton gets along well with Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas, and Mercedes also has younger and cheaper long-term talents in its driver portfolio in the form of George Russell and Frenchman Esteban Ocon of Great Britain.
Red Bull has shown no desire to win back Vettel, with 22-year-old Dutch driver Max Verstappen his main focus now alongside young British-born Thai Alexander Albon.
“It’s hard to see how two alphas can fit into a team. You can see the problem Ferrari has had. Why would it be different at Red Bull with two alpha drivers?” Said team boss Christian Horner last year.
Vettel and fellow Monegasque teammate Charles Leclerc battled for supremacy within Ferrari last year, with the 22-year-old defeating a restless champion who used to be the best.
Ferrari clearly sees Leclerc, who has a long-term contract and is fast becoming one of the most popular drivers in the sport, like his future.
The Spanish Carlos Sainz, the 25-year-old McLaren driver, has already installed himself as a favorite to join him with Renault’s Australian Daniel Ricciardo, also in dispute.
Ricciardo, 30, is a winner of the breed of Italian descent and would be a popular choice.
McLaren, who last won a race in 2012 but was fourth last season, will switch from Renault engines to Mercedes in 2021 and may be interested in Ricciardo as Sainz’s replacement if the Spaniard receives the go-ahead.
Renault, touted by some as Vettel’s most likely option, is in full cost-cutting mode as the manufacturer faces a drop in car sales as a result of the pandemic.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Hugh Lawson Edition)
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