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Sebastian Vettel has won 53 races in his F1 career, a record bettered only by Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is considering coming out of retirement but says it is not his “top priority”.
The 36-year-old German, who won consecutive titles with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, will retire in 2022.
Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari leaves Mercedes with a vacant seat in 2025 and Vettel is aware of the prospects for F1.
“Many thoughts go through my head, and I’m thinking about things like:” [a return]''Vettel told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“But at this stage my thinking has basically not changed, so it really depends on what happens from now on.”
Asked specifically about Mercedes, Vettel added: “I follow the sport very closely and there's so much movement going on at the moment in terms of drivers, the driver market and so on.”
“I'm obviously still in touch with a lot of people. I'm also talking to Toto.” [Wolff] sometimes.
“I think it depends, but it's not our top priority at the moment.”
Hamilton and Mercedes teammate George Russell both agreed that Vettel could return.
“I would love to have Seb back and I think he would be a great option for the team,” Hamilton said at a press conference at Suzuka Circuit before the Japanese Grand Prix.
Compatriot Britton Russell added: “Sebastian is a great guy. His personality is certainly missed on the grid.”
“I'm really happy and I don't care who I have as my teammate. Whether it's a world champion or a rookie, the way I work remains the same.”
On Verstappen's future: 'Anything can happen'
Vettel raced for Red Bull from 2009 to 2014, working alongside team principal Christian Horner.
In February, Mr Horner was cleared following an internal investigation into his conduct towards female colleagues.
The 50-year-old man was accused of inappropriate and controlling behavior, but he denies any wrongdoing.
Vettel admitted he was still in contact with Horner, but said he “doesn't know what happened and what didn't happen” and “I don't know which sources to trust” between the two. He said that their interactions were limited to sports-related matters.
He said, “We had two races at the beginning of the season and he did great so we sent him out.” [Horner] messages and celebrations [him]as well as other people in the team.
“From a sporting perspective, the team is doing great.”
Vettel said it was unclear what world champion Max Verstappen's future would be at Red Bull and did not rule out the possibility of him leaving the team.
The 26-year-old Dutchman has denied media claims that he could be tempted to leave Red Bull for Mercedes following the Horner controversy.
“So much has happened in the last few months. I never thought Lewis would have a chance.” [Hamilton] I'm leaving Mercedes and we've all been taught the wrong way,” Vettel added.
“I'm excited about the sport he's playing.” [Hamilton] You'll have to ask Max what he's doing, but it seems like anything can happen. ”
Vettel also said he was “thrilled” that F1 had been working to develop a sustainable synthetic fuel to be introduced in 2026 as part of a program to achieve net zero carbon by 2030. , it was long overdue.
“We can't continue to be based on fossil fuels forever, so I think it's important to show that there are solutions, there are options, there are alternatives,” he said.
“This technology has been around for a long time, so it felt a little slow, but it's here anyway, so it's good to finally take that step, and it's absolutely necessary.”
