Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel still eyeing 2021 Mercedes seat?

With Sebastian Vettel having lost his ride at Ferrari for the 2021 Formula 1 season, is a move to Mercedes still on his radar?

Just under two months before the coronavirus pandemic-delayed 2020 Formula 1 season finally got underway with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on Sunday, July 5, Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel announced that they would be parting ways after 2020, despite previous reports stating that the Scuderia wanted to retain his services for a seventh season in 2021.

Ferrari proceeded to announce that McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. is set to replace the four-time world champion alongside Charles Leclerc on a two-year deal beginning next year, and it was then announced that Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo is set to replace Sainz.

Vettel’s name has been tossed around as a potential candidate to drive for a number of teams next year as of late, including Renault to effectively complete a three-driver carousel.

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However, Renault have now announced that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is set to come out of retirement and compete for the team alongside Esteban Ocon next year.

The 33-year-old German’s other rumored landing spots had been Mercedes, Red Bull, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo.

Red Bull and Aston Martin have all but ruled out signing him, with the former having said that they don’t like the idea of having another alpha driver alongside Max Verstappen and the latter having said that they want their driver lineup for 2021 to consist of current drivers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll.

Not much has been said about Alfa Romeo as of late, but the Mercedes rumors have heated up. Neither six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton nor Valtteri Bottas have contracts to compete next year.

Hamilton has been tipped to return to the team, and Bottas has said that the team have told him that they are not looking at bringing in Vettel as his replacement. Bottas’s dominant victory in this past Sunday’s season opener, which featured an all-too-common spin by Vettel’s Ferrari, certainly won’t harm his case.

Nevertheless, there is still talk of the German driver making a move to the German team, much like seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who also drove for Ferrari, did to cap off his career several years ago.

What does Vettel think about the talk?

“I think that (Mercedes), as it is currently driving, is very happy and is doing very well,” he told Austrian broadcasters ServusTV. “The last few years prove that right. I can understand that they want to stick with it. No decision has been made in this respect yet. In theory, both places are still free. But is clear that Lewis can stay if he wants to. And the same goes, after (Sunday), for Valtteri.”

Mercedes have won six consecutive driver and constructor championships, including the last three in a row with the pairing of Hamilton and Bottas.

Vettel is the only driver currently competing in Formula 1 who has lost his 2020 ride for 2021 and has not found a new team for next year, although several other drivers also have contracts which are set to expire after the season.