Before Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin move in 2021, there was a desire among fans for Mercedes to take a strong step and instead sign the four-time world champion and form a dream team with Lewis Hamilton. Of course, her prayers hardly got any effect.
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However, here’s something interesting! Mercedes tried to snatch Vettel from Ferrari, not in 2021, but much earlier. After the 2017 season, Vettel had reached the end of his contract with the Reds. Therefore, it turned out that Mercedes was the first team that Ferrari contacted about a possible deal with the German.
Formula 1 F1 – Hungarian Grand Prix – Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary – August 1, 2021 Second-placed Sebastian Vettel from Aston Martin and third-placed Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes on the podium after the pool race via REUTERS / Florion Goga
This is because Valtteri Bottas had a one-year contract at the time and had to renew his contract with the Brackley team. And at the same time Felipe Massa withdrew from Formula 1 and created an opening at Williams. So Mercedes wouldn’t have minded sending Bottas back to where he originally came from.
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So the conditions were perfect, but there was one factor that hampered Mercedes’ chances of signing Vettel – Ferrari’s competitive performance on the track.
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What stopped Mercedes from signing Vettel?
Ferrari then looked in tip-top shape and promised to win the championship title in the years to come. Therefore, Vettel decided to stay with the Reds as he eventually signed an additional three-year contract until the end of 2020.
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Unfortunately for Vettel, 2019 turned out to be the starting point for Ferrari’s horror run. The late F1 champion Niki Lauda, who was then non-executive chairman of Mercedes, had revealed in an interview that the team really wanted to sign Vettel.
Pole position qualifier Sebastian Vettel from Germany and Ferrari and runner-up Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain and Mercedes GP speak in Parc Ferme during qualifying for the Canadian F1 Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Mark Thompson / Getty Images)
“We spoke to him briefly once, but the more competitive the Ferrari becomes, the fewer reasons he would give,” he told Sky Sports, according to Crash. “That’s why we stopped it immediately a few months ago. Any driver, if they are clever, talks to more of a team so that they are in a better position when negotiating. I think he did that. “
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So, let’s hear from you – how could Vettel’s career have gone if he had switched from Ferrari to Mercedes in 2018? Could he have won his fifth world title by now?
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