Sebastian Vettel ought to abandon hopes of racing in Formula One subsequent yr and take a break from the game, influential Purple Bull advisor Helmet Marko mentioned Thursday. The 77-year-old Austrian is aware of Vettel properly and believes there are not any critical vacancies on the 2021 grid when he’s dumped by Ferrari on the finish of the season. Marko confirmed that Purple Bull wouldn’t be capable of provide their former champion driver a seat subsequent season – making clear that the 33-year-old German could possibly be and not using a workforce after Renault on Wednesday confirmed the return of Fernando Alonso for 2021.
“I’d take a yr off and have a look at it from an outdoor perspective,” Marko instructed specialist German journal Auto Motor und Sport.
“However then possibly he likes the life with the household a lot that he leaves utterly.”
Marko closed the door on a Vettel return to the workforce the place he made his identify by claiming the drivers’ title yearly from 2010 to 2013.
“We’ve got no place for Vettel,” he mentioned. “We’ve got (Alex) Albon and we’re proud of him. Albon is half Thai and Purple Bull is 51 per cent Thai….”
Marko may need added ‘F1 isn’t any place for outdated males’ till Renault’s transfer to recruit veteran Alonso as Vettel seemed to be squeezed out by youthful males in all instructions.
Vettel’s doable choices have been lowered not solely by Alonso’s return to Renault, the place he gained his two titles in 2005 and 2006, however by McLaren’s transfer to signal Daniel Ricciardo as successor to Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz, the person who will substitute Vettel at Maranello.
‘Stopwatch, not age, issues’
Defending six-times champions Mercedes have mentioned they’re very proud of their present driver pairing of champion Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who gained final Sunday’s season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, despite the fact that each are out of contract on the finish of this yr.
Vettel has mentioned he’ll take time to mirror on his future and has no instant want to retire. “In the event you make the choice to shut the door, you should not do it with the intention to hope to open it once more someday,” he mentioned in Spielberg final weekend.
“You need to be ready to go away the door closed.”
No sooner had he spoken, it appeared, than Alonso’s actions contradicted that principle – the Spaniard, who ‘retired’ after leaving McLaren in 2018, can be 40 subsequent yr.
His return prompted Renault workforce chief Cyril Abiteboul on Thursday to defend the workforce’s junior driver programme from criticism for not producing a contender for the seat.
“I can count on after our resolution to rejoin with Fernando that this could possibly be seen as a scarcity of curiosity, or loyalty, in direction of our personal mission of the Renault Sport Academy,” mentioned Abiteboul.
“However I wish to be extraordinarily clear that it isn’t. The plan of the academy was to have the ability to have a driver becoming a member of Formulation 1 in 2021 — and who is aware of, this can be the case.”
Alonso’s return is prone to imply there can be no place at Renault subsequent yr for excellent Chinese language racer Guanya Zhou, 20, who this yr was promoted to be the workforce’s check driver and has been spectacular in Formulation Two.
The Spaniard mentioned he has no fears that his advancing years can be an issue.
Promoted
“I noticed Formulation One for a few years,” he mentioned. “And the stopwatch is the one factor that issues, not the age.
“I by no means had the classification in a race primarily based on the passport or date of delivery, however at all times by the stopwatch. So, hopefully, I’m nonetheless quick, or quicker than them!”
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