Red Bull Legend Sebastian Vettel Reveals How 7X World Champion Lewis Hamilton Blocked His Potential Move to Mercedes: “I’m Not Sure Whether They…”

In 2017 and 2018, there was a titanic battle in F1 between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. This was the time when Ferrari was on a resurgence in the Turbo-hybrid era and was Mercedes’ main challenger. However, Vettel’s championship challenge fell apart in both seasons. Yet these two years bought him closer to Hamilton. On the verge of retirement, Sebastian spoke about the prospect of driving alongside his friend and rival Lewis at the Silver Arrows.

Speaking to Tom Clarkson on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast, the 4-time world champion opened up on whether he had an opportunity to race for Mercedes.

He said, “I don’t know maybe there was [an opportunity], I spoke with Niki [Lauda], but to be honest halfway through the Ferrari period about joining [Mercedes] obviously, it would have been a big deal, because Lewis was sort of their #1, and then I am not sure whether they would have liked to have us both in the team.”

Vettel mentioned how he was committed to winning with Ferrari and that kept his Mercedes interest on the back burner. He continued, “I also didn’t have great interest [for Mercedes] at that time. Because I was so committed to Ferrari, and that was my dream to make that thing work. So you talk to each other, but it wasn’t really serious.”

Vettel further spoke that he would have relished the challenge of going against Hamilton at Mercedes. Although he admits that it just was not meant to be for him.

Read More: WATCH: 11X World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel Share a Wholesome Moment Before the Japanese GP

Fans would keep wondering if the German had signed up to be Lewis Hamilton‘s teammate, how different would his career be. Unfortunately, it’s a big what-if scenario for the former Scuderia man and for all of his fans.

Sebastian Vettel on his relations with Lewis Hamilton

Vettel and Hamilton have raced with each other for the entirety of their careers so far. Since their F1 debut in 2007, they have competed to win championships for several years. Yet some of their closest head-to-head battles probably came from 2017 to 2019.

Their racing rivalry arguably reached a boiling point at the 2017 Azerbaijan GP. While Hamilton allegedly brake-tested Vettel under a Safety Car period, Vettel too came alongside the Briton to hit him on the side.

Nonetheless, the duo sat and talked about it to settle their differences. Sebastian claimed on the podcast that this incident ironically brought him closer to Hamilton. He said, “I think that moment was a key moment. Because it could have made us step away from each other more or bring us together. It brought us together.”

Since then, we have seen incidents between this duo such as the Canadian GP time penalty for Vettel in 2019. Yet both world champions have shared an amicable bond.

When Lewis clinched his 7th world championship in 2020, Sebastian was the first person to go and congratulate him. They both shared the podium in Istanbul that day after a P3 for Vettel.

Watch This Story: The Intense Title Battle between F1 champions Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel

In reality, we never got Vettel driving at Mercedes, yet we fathom what it could have been. Despite Vettel being ready to retire after the Abu Dhabi finale in 2022, fans will hope for a Lewis-Seb reunion in F1 or somewhere else. Do you think Vettel will ever come back to F1?