Formula 1: Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel decision coming sooner than expected?

Ferrari’s decision on whether or not to retain Sebastian Vettel for the 2021 Formula 1 season could come before the 2020 season even begins.

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel, like many of the other 19 drivers slated to compete in Formula 1 this year whenever the season gets underway, does not have a contract to compete past the 2020 season.

The 2020 season is currently on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, and there is no telling if or when it might get underway. It was initially slated to be a record-breaking 22-race season, but the first nine races have been postponed or canceled. The goal is for between 15 and 18 races to be contested.

Leading up to the planned start of the 2020 season in mid-March, there had been mounting speculation that the 2020 season could be Vettel’s final season with Ferrari. He signed a three-year contract extension in his third year with the Italian team back in August of 2017.

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Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, who arrived at the Maranello-based team ahead of the 2019 season, signed a massive extension over the offseason. He is now signed with the team through the 2024 season, illustrating that the Scuderia have committed to him as their top driver in the long run.

Vettel’s recent struggles, which cost him both the 2017 and 2018 world championships based on the total number of points he lost and Lewis Hamilton gained, landed him on the hot seat.

The latter stages of the 2019 season, aside of his win in the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit, made things worse, as he even nearly received a suspension following the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza. He also collided with Leclerc late in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace.

Several drivers, most notably Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo, have been linked to Ferrari as potential replacements. Vettel himself has been linked to a number of teams, including McLaren and Renault.

However, a new contract for the 32-year-old German may not hinge on how well he performs in the 2020 season, in large part because nobody knows what, exactly, the 2020 season will actually include.

In fact, there is a chance that he will have a new deal with Ferrari lined up for the 2021 season before any racing actually takes place in 2020.

Here is what Vettel had to say about the matter when asked if he could sign a contract extension before the 2020 season begins, according to Formula 1.

"“It depends when we will have the first race. There is a high chance we will have to make a decision before there will be the first race because at the moment it looks like there will be no race before June or even July.“The main priority at first was to ensure that we’re all dealing with the situation in the right way. Therefore, everything was put on hold and I can imagine that’s the same everywhere else and it was the same for us. It’s not like a couple of days after Australia we said ‘right now [we’ll talk]’. We will make progress.“Whatever the deal will be like, it will be whatever I and the team will be comfortable with. So in terms of duration I don’t know. Normally the contracts I’ve had in the past were all three-year deals. I know I’m one of the more experienced drivers in Formula 1 but I’m not the oldest and I don’t think there’s an age limit in this regard.”"

As of now, the 2020 Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, June 28 with the French Grand Prix at Circuit Paul Ricard, but this is subject to change. Will Sebastian Vettel be under contract with Ferrari through at least the 2021 season by the time the 2020 season gets underway?