Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel moving to Mercedes in 2021?

Is four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel already out of the picture as far as landing with Mercedes for the 2021 season is concerned?

Last month, the news that many Formula 1 fans were expecting arrived when Ferrari and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel announced that they will be parting ways with one another after the 2020 season, their sixth season together, reaches its conclusion.

Shortly thereafter, Ferrari announced that Carlos Sainz Jr. is set to replace Vettel alongside Charles Leclerc beginning next year. Vettel had been rumored to replace Sainz at McLaren, but McLaren signed Daniel Ricciardo instead.

This left a seat open at Renault, one to which Vettel has been linked. But more notably, Vettel had been discussed as a possible Mercedes driver next year.

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Mercedes, which have won the last six driver and constructor world championships, would be the optimal landing spot for the 32-year-old German next year. Landing at the German outfit would give him a golden opportunity to win a fifth world title.

Mercedes don’t have either one of their two drivers under contract for next year, although with Ferrari off the table, it is highly likely that six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton will sign at least a one-year extension at some point in the near future.

The driver who has been discussed as being on the hot seat is Valtteri Bottas. In three seasons with the team, Bottas has won seven races, compared to Hamilton’s 31 victories during the same span, and he has not won a championship. Hamilton has won the world title in each of the last three seasons, and in convincing fashion.

But according to Bottas, Mercedes are not even considering replacing him with Vettel next year. Here is what he had to say on the Sky F1 Vodcast.

"“It’s the same as every year for me. I find it quite funny that with not even a single race done, there’s been people getting my seat. It made me laugh! So there’s no pressure from that side. I have my clear goal for the season in my mind and that’s it. Things will then sort themselves one way or another, whatever’s going to happen. I’ve no stress about that at all.”“It doesn’t get to you. We’ve been very honest about what the situation is all the time about contracts, and I got a pretty straight message that no, they’re not considering Seb. So I said fine, no worries then.”"

This statement checks out with past statements made by team principal and CEO Toto Wolff about contract negotiations with Bottas. The 30-year-old Finn did not sign an extension with the Silver Arrows until late last season, and Wolff vowed to make future talks a lot smoother.

Plus, if it’s not broken, why fix it? While Bottas may not be next best driver to Hamilton on the Formula 1 grid, he has been a key contributor in Mercedes continuing their dominance throughout the most recent three seasons of the V6 turbo hybrid era. Why throw away that camaraderie and risk intra-team tension by signing another alpha driver in Vettel?

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With Mercedes seemingly off the table as a potential landing spot, it is looking more and more likely that the 2020 Formula 1 season will be Sebastian Vettel’s final season in the sport, although there could still be some mid-pack options if he is willing to settle for one of those, given how few drivers are under contract for next year.

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