LONDON: Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has suggested he could return to Formula One following talks with Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
Mercedes are in search of a new driver after Lewis Hamilton announced in February he was leaving the team for Ferrari following 11 years with the Silver Arrows.
Vettel won his four world championship titles with Red Bull from 2010-13. He retired from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season after six years at Ferrari and two with Aston Martin.
But he has now hinted at a return to Grand Prix racing following talks with Wolff and several other team bosses.
“I am speaking to Toto. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things,” Vettel told Sky Sports News on Wednesday.
“I’m talking to a lot of people because I know them, but not very specific. I mean obviously it does cross my mind, I do think about it, but it’s not the main thought,” the 36-year-old German added.
“I have three kids at home, it’s busy every day, so there’s a lot of other thoughts I have. There’s ideas that I have.
“Events that I’m planning going forward, so I did speak to a lot of other team principals as well, and not only about racing. There’s thoughts, but nothing concrete at the minute.”
Vettel said he was taken aback by Hamilton’s decision to leave Mercedes for Ferrari after winning six world championships with the German giants.
“I was surprised, like I guess most of us were,” he said.
“But it is exciting. Obviously he’s looking for a new challenge and it will be different to see him in red, in a different color.”
Vettel, meanwhile, has been test-driving the Porsche car scheduled to compete in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
“Maybe, I don’t know yet,” he replied when asked if he could make his first appearance in the celebrated endurance race this year.
“I’ve been testing. I was curious, so I wanted to see how it feels. It’s obviously a different discipline. It’s still racing, but it’s a different car, different discipline.
“I am (tempted) and I’m not. I am obviously also looking for lots of other things and there’s lots of other things that do interest me outside of racing.”
Vettel hints at Formula One return after talks with Mercedes boss
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Vettel hints at Formula One return after talks with Mercedes boss
- Vettel won his four world championship titles with Red Bull from 2010-13
- “I am speaking to Toto. I don’t know if that qualifies as Mercedes, but about other things,” Vettel told Sky Sports News on Wednesday
Lategan leads the Dakar, champion Al-Rajhi withdraws
- Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds
ALULA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi declared an end to his title defense and withdrew on Wednesday as South African Henk Lategan dominated the fourth stage for Toyota and took over at the top.
Al-Rajhi had been struggling from the start in his customer entry Toyota Hilux, and was already 19th when he withdrew with technical issues 234km into the 452km part of a two-day marathon stage around AlUla.
“Sadly, our Dakar 2026 journey ends here,” he posted on Facebook. “We’ll come back stronger next year.”
The Saudi explained later that he had lost half an hour with two punctures and, with nearly half the stage remaining until the bivouac and having to go slow with no further spare available, had called it a day.
It ended a difficult year for the Saudi since he won last year, with Al-Rajhi crashing in Jordan last April and breaking two vertebrae. He returned to competition only in September.
Lategan, last year’s overall runner-up, took his fifth career stage win and led Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah by three minutes and 55 seconds.
“Yesterday, we had a total of nine punctures. It’s unbelievable. I think that’s a record in three days. I was lost,” the factory Toyota driver said, his happiness tempered by missing his son’s sixth birthday.
“I didn’t know what to do on the rocks, whether to slow down or not, attack or not. Today I decided to forget all that and just go for it. It’s a lottery anyway.”
Al-Attiyah, a five-times Dakar winner now with the Dacia Sandriders team, was second in the stage — more than seven minutes behind Lategan — to move up from 10th overnight.
“We did a good job, we’re here, and I think we didn’t lose too much time. It might even be good for our start position tomorrow,” he said.
“We didn’t need to push any harder; we’re still some way back. The car is in good condition and we’re happy.”
Ford’s Mattias Ekstrom was in third place overall with teammate and four-time Dakar winner Carlos Sainz fourth and nearly 16 minutes off the lead.
Ford’s overnight leader Mitch Guthrie of the US dropped to 13th.
In the motorcycle category, Spaniard Tosha Schareina took the lead for Honda from Australia’s defending champion Daniel Sanders, who dropped to third on his KTM. American Ricky Brabec was second.
Schareina and Brabec finished the stage in a Honda one-two-three with American Skyler Howes third and Sanders fifth.
“I made some silly mistakes in the navigation. After the refuel, I tried to push and make up time,” said Sanders.
“I felt better in the last half. The bike’s okay. There was a lot of rocks. I tried to protect my tires. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”
