“I can't say no because you don't know" - Sebastian Vettel hints at a possible return to F1 as driver

Former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel has hinted at the possibility of an F1 return later as he recently spoke to Martin Brundle about other drivers.

The four-time world champion hung up his helmet at the end of the 2022 season after a glorious career. Apart from the World Championships he won with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, establishing the team's first wave of dominance, he also became the youngest Grand Prix winner back in the day with Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) and had a remarkable stint with Ferrari.

When he announced his retirement, he was with Aston Martin, trying to build the team from scratch. They are one of the top teams this season with Fernando Alonso as Sebastian Vettel's replacement.

Alonso is one of the drivers who returned to the grid three years after retiring in 2018, and it is widely expected that Sebastian Vettel would make a similar move later. As the 36-year-old spoke to Martin Brundle for Sky Sports, he was asked if he would be coming back given his current age and other drivers who returned, to which he replied rather positively, saying:

"I can't say no because you don't know.

"I think it's something, if you ask all of them, probably some of them would have said, 'No', and some of them, 'I don't know.' But in the end, all of them came back, so I can't exclude it."

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Sebastian Vettel 'enjoying' the challenge outside of Formula 1

While some might be excited about the return of the German to the grid, Vettel cautioned that it would depend on when exactly he is able to do that.

Fernando Alonso, the oldest driver on the grid, is currently 42 meanwhile Sebastian Vettel is 36. The German mentioned that he cannot think about returning to the grid a decade from now because that would be too late.

He said:

"But it probably would depend on when obviously, it's not endless because I'm 36, not like in 10 years time, 'Maybe I think about it,' then time has passed."

Vettel further added that he is currently enjoying the challenge of doing something other than racing. He said:

"But it's not in my head right now, I am enjoying the outlook of the challenge of what to do next."

Vettel earlier confirmed that he would be present on the paddock during the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, which was one of his most favorite tracks when he raced.