Vettel return not being contemplated by Red Bull

Red Bull co-founder and part owner Dietrich Mateschitz has straight out denied that the team are contemplating bringing Sebastian Vettel back for 2021.

Vettel enjoyed the best period of his career with Red Bull which is where he won his four world championships before making a high-profile switch to Ferrari. At the Scuderia, a similarly high level of success has evaded him so far, with speculation mounting that he could leave when his current deal expires at the end of 2020.

One mooted destination has been Red Bull, but that won’t be happening, as emphatically stated by Mateschitz, who, when asked if it was an option, stated:

“It is not being thought of.”

Leclerc forgiven for secret skydive? 'No' say FerrariRead more

Turning his attentions to the upcoming 2020 season, the Red Bull owner thinks the team finally has the foundations in place to mount a championship challenge.

“Compared to previous years, we clearly have the highest expectations this year,” he added.

“All the data from the computer and the wind tunnel is better than last year and we are confident that this will be reflected on the track.

“That means we can hope to compete for the world championship. Our engine partner Honda did an excellent job in the winter.

“We managed kilometres on the test stand like never before, about 5000 without any problems.

“The engine enables us to compete at the front in terms of performance and reliability.”

Red Bull won four titles in a row between 2010 and 2013, and finished third in the championship last year behind Ferrari and Mercedes.

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Lewis Hamilton goes from Karate Kid to Samurai Warrior with Kill Bill guru

• 3 minutes ago

F1 Results Today: 2026 Japanese Grand Prix times and positions

• 36 minutes ago

Oscar Piastri blames 'mirror system' after being hit with FIA warning

• 1 hour ago

Max Verstappen reveals why he kicked out F1 journalist at Japanese Grand Prix

• 2 hours ago

'It's better to quit': Will Max Verstappen take F1 icon's advice?

• 2 hours ago

Lando Norris on brink of FIA penalty after Japanese Grand Prix disaster

• 3 hours ago