Sebastian Vettel leaves Ferrari at the end of the 2020 F1 season

Breaking News

12 May 2020 at 06:15
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  • GPblog.com

Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel is going to leave the Italian racing stable Ferrari at the end of this year, according to Autobild and Auto Motor und Sport. This news was brought out Monday night by both German sources.

The news is not official yet, but according to reports from Germany the news will be officially confirmed this week and possibly Tuesday. Vettel's current contract was signed in August 2017 and will expire at the end of 2020.

Ferrari made an offer to Vettel

In recent weeks the contract situation of the German driver has been in the news many times. For example, Gazetta dello Sport announced that Ferrari would have offered a one-year contract to Vettel for 2020 with a substantially reduced salary. Meanwhile, his teammate Charles Leclerc is committed until 2024. The Monegask made his debut for Ferrari in 2019 and made it difficult for Sebastian in his debut year. Charles finished fourth in the classification and Vettel fifth. 

Opportunities for Vettel

The British BBC reports that Carlos Sainz is a big contender on the soon to be empty seat at Ferrari. If the Spaniard leaves for Maranello, Daniel Ricciardo could make the switch to McLaren to fill Sainz' gap. On the other hand, McLaren could be one of the last top teams that Vettel can go to.
 
Lewis Hamilton has indicated many times that he doesn't want to leave Mercedes. The German team has also shown no interest in Sebastian's driving skills to date. Red Bull's Helmut Marko has also spoken out about Vettel and made it clear that they don't want two superstars on the payroll at Red Bull.
 
Earlier this year at the cancelled Australian Grand Prix, Vettel spoke out about his future in Formula 1. "Of course you look ahead," said Vettel to Motorsport.com. "If I'm realistic, I won't be there in ten years. Because I think that you realize that, as athletes and athletes, we share a destiny that our time is limited".