Formula 1: Christian Horner heats up Sebastian Vettel to Red Bull Racing rumors

Amid rumors that Max Verstappen may leave Red Bull Racing after the 2019 Formula 1 season, Christian Horner heated up rumors that Sebastian Vettel may return to the team.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner recently made a statement about Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel that began to heat up rumors that Vettel may return to Red Bull Racing in the 2020 Formula 1 season.

Vettel drove for Red Bull Racing from the 2009 season through the 2014 season, and he won four consecutive championships from the 2010 season through the 2013 season.

Vettel had a contract to drive for the team through the 2015 season, but he triggered clauses in that contract to leave the team after the 2014 season and make the move to Ferrari, where he has driven since the 2015 season.

He now has a contract to drive for Ferrari through the 2020 season, but once again, there is a chance that he may be in a position to trigger clauses in that contract to leave the team after the 2019 season.

Here is what Horner had to say about Vettel that has heated up these rumors, according to Express.

"“We have great memories of Sebastian’s time with us. He is part of our history. He won four titles and many, many races together with us, including Red Bull’s first win in Formula 1. We have a special relationship with Sebastian. Although he is now with Ferrari, he still comes to see the mechanics very often, he knows most of the faces here and is still a friend of the team. He was very happy for us at the Red Bull Ring.”"

Could this spell a potential return to the Milton Keynes-based team for the 32-year-old German?

In itself, this seems like nothing more than Vettel’s old boss complimenting and praising him. However, given the context of the current situation regarding the Formula 1 Silly Season for the 2020 season, it could be more than that.

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Vettel has become very mistake-prone over the last few seasons, and he has struggled this season at Ferrari with new teammate Charles Leclerc pushing him a lot harder than Kimi Raikkonen ever did from the 2015 season through the 2018 season.

Pierre Gasly has struggled in his first season driving for Red Bull Racing, landing him on the hot seat pretty much since day one, while Max Verstappen could do something similar to what Vettel did after the 2014 season and trigger clauses in his contract to leave Red Bull Racing after the 2019 season despite the fact this contract, a three-year extension that he signed in October of 2017, does not expire until the 2020 season reaches its conclusion.

Over the last few months, it has been rumored that the 23-year-old Frenchman may be demoted back to Scuderia Toro Rosso, effectively the Red Bull Racing junior team where he spent the end of the 2017 season and the entire 2018 season, or released from the Red Bull Racing organization entirely.

It has also been rumored that the 21-year-old Dutchman may get out of his current contract and be on his way to Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, the team that have won eight of the first nine races of the 2019 season. The clause in play that could potentially allow this to happen has been confirmed by Verstappen’s manager, Raymond Vermeulen, as a performance clause, although specific details about it have not been confirmed.

That said, Red Bull Racing team manager Helmut Marko started these rumors earlier this season by stating that this performance clause would allow Verstappen to leave the team after the 2019 season if they do not give him a car that is capable of winning this year’s championship.

Verstappen currently sits in third place in the driver standings, but he sits a solid distance behind the two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, in first and second, respectively.

Here is how the top three in the driver standings currently look.

Rank – Driver, Team: Points (Behind)
1st – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: 197 (0)
2nd – Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes: 166 (-31)
3rd – Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing: 126 (-71)

Regardless, it appears as though Red Bull Racing will have at least one seat open at the end of the 2019 season, and with the entire situation surrounding Vettel and the two current Red Bull Racing drivers considered, it would not be surprising if there is more to what Horner is saying than what is reflected on the surface.

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Are Christian Horner’s comments anything more than simple compliments and praise for the driver who won four consecutive championships for Red Bull Racing, or is there reason to believe that there is an ulterior motive to him making them? Will Sebastian Vettel return to the team in the 2020 Formula 1 season?

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