Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel reportedly considering retirement after 2019

Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has been rumored to be considering retirement following the conclusion of the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Sebastian Vettel is currently in his fifth Formula 1 season driving for Scuderia Ferrari, and he is under contract for a sixth.

However, rumors emerged during the weekend of last Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix that he is considering retirement following the conclusion of the 2019 season, even though he is still only 31 years old.

Here is what British Formula 1 journalist Joe Saward revealed about Vettel in his latest newsletter, “Joe Saward’s Business of Motorsport”, according to Planet F1.

"“The most shocking rumor that started to spread in the paddock in Monaco is that Sebastian Vettel is considering retiring from F1 at the end of the season at the age of 31.“After winning four world championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 he tried to bring Ferrari back to success, but he made several mistakes and is now under pressure after the arrival of Charles Leclerc, younger and apparently with more growth margin than German.“A choice that in some ways would follow that of Nico Rosberg, who left F1 after winning the title in 2016 aware of the fact that he would hardly succeed in the enterprise again.“The big question, of course, is who would be Vettel’s successor. The names that have been circulating for now are those of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas.”"

In August of 2017, the 31-year-old German signed a three-year contract extension with the Scuderia to continue driving for the team through the 2020 season, as the three-year contract he signed with the Italian team ahead of the 2015 season after departing from Red Bull Racing following the 2014 season was set to expire at the end of the 2017 season.

But after winning four consecutive championships from the 2010 season to the 2013 season to become just the fourth four-time champion in Formula 1 history and just the third driver in Formula 1 history to win four consecutive championships, Vettel has not had the success driving for the sport’s most successful team of all-time that he has wanted and expected to have.

More from Formula One

Vettel entered the 2015 season having competed in 139 Formula 1 races since his career began in the 2007 season, and he won 39 of those races. He also recorded 66 podium finishes and took 45 pole positions.

Since Vettel began driving for Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport have won every driver championship and every constructor championship. He has had a number of opportunities to challenge the Silver Arrows in recent seasons, but he has not been able to capitalize on them, and at this point, the Brackley-based team are as good as they have ever been, if not better. They have won each of the 2019 season’s first six races and only finished outside of the top two in one of them, and they have won eight consecutive races going back to last season.

Vettel has driven in a total of 86 races for Ferrari, and he has earned 13 victories, recorded 48 podium finishes and taken 10 pole positions. He finished in second place in the driver standings in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, but he finished 46 points behind champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes in the 2017 season and 88 points behind him in the 2018 season. He is currently on a 14-race win drought going back to last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Next. Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark

Will Sebastian Vettel be back with Ferrari in the 2020 Formula 1 season to finish out the three-year contract extension he signed in August of 2017, or will he retire from the sport after the 2019 season ends?

Home/Formula One