Sebastian Vettel left Red Bull Racing for Ferrari in 2015, ending a seven-year partnership with the team and its Scuderia Toro Rosso junior program that produced 39 Formula 1 wins and four consecutive championships. Vettel’s stint with Ferrari was a relative disappointment, racking up 14 wins and no titles over six seasons before Vettel ultimately raced for two more years at Aston Martin. Now, about a month after retiring as a driver at just 35, Vettel may be on his way back to Red Bull.
That juicy rumor comes from none other than Helmut Marko, the long-time leader of the team’s driver development program. Marko, whose legacy is built largely on both hiring Vettel and putting him in a place to succeed, told the German-language Sky Sports F1 that the team is open to a role for its former driver.
Any role with the team is unlikely to come soon. Marko says that the team will “let him plant a few trees” first, referring to Vettel’s interest in environmental causes and advocacy. However far away that role may be, Marko says that he and Vettel have already had conversations to gauge his interest and confirms that a “top management” role at the team (or its junior team, now known as Scuderia AlphaTauri) could be enough to bring him back to Formula 1.
Whether or not Vettel ever returns to the team, his legacy with the program is secure. Four of the program’s six driver’s championships, the first four, were won by him. He also led the team to four of its five constructor’s championships. Christian Horner even says the team has a data center named after him, although that name may need to change if Vettel is working out of the building.
via the Drive
