Vettel F1 exit could open the door to an Alonso return

Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari exit is set to lead to a driver merry-go-round that could result in the Formula 1 return of Fernando Alonso.

That is the verdict of Martin Brundle following Vettel's announcement he is due to leave the Scuderia at the end of the season.

The current global crisis has created a unique situation where the driver market has already become active before the start of the new season.

While driver-turned-SkyF1 commentator Brundle cannot see a new home for Vettel, he does feel a door has opened for Alonso to end what would be a two-year hiatus from the sport.

"This is a really strange time in that driver contracts are coming to their end, to fruition, and teams are having to make decisions based on the future, with no current season as an indicator," Brundle told SkySports F1.

"So this plays into the hands of young but experienced young drivers. The new kids in town haven't had a chance to prove themselves as a Leclerc or a [Max] Verstappen, for example.

"They're working blind at the moment, but I see a scenario that is [Carlos] Sainz to Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo to McLaren, and then that leaves a seat at Renault which probably would be [Fernando] Alonso.

"I don't necessarily see a home for Sebastian Vettel."

Vettel has taken 14-grands prix victories across his five years to date with Ferrari, making him the third most successful driver to have competed for the team, behind Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher.

However, a series of errors across the past two seasons have cast a shadow over Vettel's time with the team, causing possibly irreparable damage to the German's reputation.

"If you think back to Hockenheim 2018, I think that was the moment the rot started, where he had that silly incident at the hairpin," said Brundle.

"He's won 14 races for the team and he's still got a great turn of speed, but he started making mistakes and, despite showing speed and qualifying pace and great race craft, there were too many mistakes.

"I think it's been a frustrating experience for him. With Alonso, they so nearly won a couple of championships and then it all fell apart. Seb's finished in the top three of the championship three times, but it's fallen apart."

Brundle has suggested the only possibility for Vettel is with Renault should Alonso not return.

"I think that there's a good chance that Sebastian will step away from Formula 1," added Brundle. "Whether it's for good or not, as we've seen with other drivers, remains to be seen.

"The Renault seat, if I'm right in Ricciardo going to McLaren, the Renault seat is a works seat and may appeal to him."

Before you go...

Verstappen names Sainz the ideal candidate to replace Vettel

Mercedes boss Wolff unable to ignore "asset" Vettel

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