Sebastian Vettel’s F1 Return Grapevine Resumes As Audi Looks To Grab Ferrari’s Past & Present To Set Up a Strong Future

At the final race of the last season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel hung up his helmet. Lewis Hamilton then claimed in a press conference that “Formula 1 has a way of sucking you back.” It’s likely that he wasn’t just joking since there are now speculations that the Ingolstadt-based organization is willing to combine the Scuderia’s past and present in order to create a promising future.

Yes, the German manufacturer is creating their F1 project from the ground up at the moment. Even though there are still almost three years until Audi makes its much-anticipated debut in the pinnacle of motorsport, the organization doesn’t want to be caught off guard. The team has already made the necessary preparations by growing its shareholding in the Sauber team, which presently competes under the Alfa Romeo banner and will fully take over in 2026 when the engine restrictions are implemented. In addition, the team has determined that Andreas Seidl will be in charge of managing the group.

The German car industry giants have made a number of jobs public since the company intends to operate with a “German factor” in Ingolstadt. Additionally, there are reports that Andreas Seidl pondered the Ferrari’s history as he opted for the driver pairing, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick. The German wishes to have Sebastian Vettel as his first preference. However, as we are all aware, Vettel has given the decision to retire a lot of thought, and thus he doesn’t appear willing to change his mind at this time.

The choice’s outcome, however, is always uncertain. Yet in case if his plan to get Vettel fails, Seidl’s top target in the event is Ferrari’s present driver Carlos Sainz, whose contract with the Scuderia is set to expire at the end of 2024. The German boss, who revived the Spanish driver’s career at the time when both were at the Woking-based garage, is said to be closely connected to him, according to the Swiss publication.

Along with that, Sainz’s family ties to Audi have been strong, which increases the likelihood of this happening. How? Carlos Sainz’s father, who has recently sought success at Dakar, is also a racing driver who has served as the four rings’ pilot.

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It was confirmed that Audi will be the one to join the top tier of motorsport as an engine supplier after much discussion regarding the Volkswagen group’s plan to enter Formula 1. And even before the suppliers joined the grid, a former F1 driver predicted that the team will even fight for the championship.

Will Audi be the team to fight for the championship?

The four rings declared in October of last year that they would join Sauber in the motorsport industry in 2026. The squad is doing everything they can to attain their goal. Andreas Seidl joined the company as CEO until Audi officially acquires Alfa Romeo.

After that, the team is now framing the structure by making recruitment announcements. In light of this, Pedro de la Rosa has projected that the future Audi squad is certain to vie for titles. He mentioned it on the F1 Nation podcast by saying, “This is a marathon. I think that Andreas understands that this is not a one-year deal or a one-year project. It’s a marathon and they’ve just covered the first kilometer, so there’s still a lot to be covered.” 

The former McLaren driver then added, “Alfa Romeo are difficult to judge, from my point of view. Very inconsistent sometimes. Sometimes they’re really fast, sometimes they’re really slow. It seems to depend very much on the on track, and also on tyre management; sometimes they seem to bring the tyres into the right operating window, sometimes they’re out of sync. But this is a long-term sport, and [Audi] will play the game, and they will be title contenders in a few years.”

Do you believe Audi will be able to persuade four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and the promising Carlos Sainz to join their cause and ensure their future success?