Sebastian Vettel says he has ‘lots of years left’ amid Max Verstappen partnership rumours

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F1 star Sebastian Vettel has claimed he still has many more years left in the sport amid rumours he could be targeting a partnership with Max Verstappen at Red Bull. The Aston Martin driver is one of the most experienced drivers on the circuit having made his debut way back in 2006.

Now in his 16th season, he is keen to drive a competitive car, but so far that hasn’t happened with Lawrence Stroll’s team. With his status beyond this season currently uncertain, Vettel shared an insight into his mentality regarding his future.

“Time will tell,” said the racer when quizzed by reporters about his likelihood of continuing to race in 2023. “At the minute, I think the focus is on now and on the mountain ahead of us that we try to climb – and we won’t climb it in  day, we won’t climb it in a month.

“But we will choose the path we climb which will determine the next three to four years, so that’s why I feel it’s really important to focus on that and it takes all the attention. Those will be the key things I will be looking at to see how promising it is looking in the future and how soon, because obviously I’m not really old – I think I would have physically a lot of years left, it’s not a problem at all.”

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“That’s ultimately the goal – to win and fight for podiums and victories, which currently we are far away [from],” he added. “But there is plenty of work, so that’s also very exciting – to know where we are now and to take the little steps and define the path for the future.”

Earlier this week, the German ruled out the possibility of teaming up with Red Bull’s Verstappen should he continue to stay in F1. Verstappen’s current team-mate Sergio Perez will see his contract expire at the end of this season and Vettel is not the only one linked with replacing him with AlphaTauri star Pierre Gasly also having his eye on his seat. “I haven’t spoken with Christian (Horner) for a while, so I don’t know. I mean, time will tell,” Vettel said when asked if a return to Red Bull could be on the cards.

Vettel enjoyed a fruitful period with Red Bull, winning four consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013. His dominance was eventually put to an end by Lewis Hamilton, who went on to have his own sustained period of dominance, before the controversial end to last season.

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In 2022 however, Vettel has got off to a slow start. This is largely due to the four-time champion testing positive for covid-19 and missing the first two races of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

After failing to finish in Australia, the 34-year-old crossed the line eighth in Imola last week and will hope to build on that performance next month at the inaugural Miami GP.

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