Former world champion Sebastian Vettel could return to Formula 1 with Red Bull and is already in talks – will he succeed Helmut Marko?
Will Sebastian Vettel return to Formula 1 in the near future? Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko had already stated in April that he considered the four-time world champion to be the ideal successor for him, and there do indeed appear to be discussions about a role at Red Bull – in whatever form.
“We are in talks, including on this topic,” Vettel confirmed on the ORF podcast Sport am Sonntag. Although these talks are “perhaps not yet so intensive and in-depth” that anything concrete has been decided, initial steps appear to have been taken. What form Vettel’s role at Red Bull might ultimately take “remains to be seen.”
Vettel gets on “greatly” with his former mentor Helmut Marko, as the German emphasizes. Marko also thinks highly of Vettel and would like to see him in his role if he does decide to retire in the not too distant future.
Marko could possibly close the chapter on Formula 1 by the end of 2026 at the latest, allowing Vettel to take over – but the former world champion is not quite there yet: “He has said a few times that he will stop, but he is still there and I wish him all the best for a long time to come,” he laughs.
Nevertheless, both know that time is marching on and that even for Helmut Marko, it will come to an end at some point. “He is a brutal realist and can assess things very well and very genuinely,” says Vettel. “I think he’ll know when the time is right.”
Marko himself emphasized to the Kleine Zeitung newspaper regarding the Vettel rumors: “We’re not talking about the position, but he’s following everything very closely.” At the moment, many would like to be his successor, but until the summer break, the focus is on reducing the sporting deficit.
The Austrian also says that the two major shareholders, Mark Mateschitz and Chalerm Yoovidhya, have their own ideas. “Sometimes one doesn’t want what the other wants. That’s not so easy either,” he says.
Vettel: Marko cannot be replaced 1:1
According to Vettel, it would not be possible to replace Marko 1:1 anyway. Marko is a character in his own right who has made a major contribution to the team since 2005. Therefore, according to Vettel, it is not a goal to take over his role as a copy, “but perhaps – whoever it may be – it would be nice if the work he has put in is continued.”
Will Vettel himself end up doing it? “I know the position very well from my time there,” he says. As a Red Bull driver and four-time world champion with the team, the 37-year-old Marko was very close to him. “But I have to admit, to be fair, that I haven’t been that close to him in recent years.”
“I do think I know what he’s doing,” he continues, but also emphasizes that there is still a lot to learn from Marko “and that the position will inevitably be filled differently and also lived out differently.”
How Vettel follows Formula 1 today
Vettel himself ended his active career at the end of the 2022 season and has since retired from motorsport. Apart from a few appearances at Grands Prix to promote his own projects, he has not had a role in the sport for the past two and a half years.
Nevertheless, he follows “most” Formula 1 races, as he says. But: “Not every one live, and certainly not every session.”
In the meantime, his focus has also shifted: “I’m less interested in which tire compound lasts how long, but much more in what makes the drivers tick, the dynamics, the psyche behind it,” he says. “I’m extremely curious to see who’s ticking how right now. I really enjoy watching that.”
And that could also benefit him as a possible successor to Marko.
