Vettel to leave Ferrari at the end of the season - where to next?

[Nitrodaze]

Not surprising really. I could see how frustrated he has been with the Ferrari team. Some of the radio exchanges in 2018 and especially 2019 showed some bursting frustration with the team.

Some might say, Vettel failed to win a championship with Ferrari, but one could also say Ferrari failed to provide the car and opertational efficiency that would have facilitated Vettel to win a title in their car. Both sides made woefull mistakes.

Vettel is the second multiple world champion to depart Ferrari with discontent. That says something is very wrong here.

But where to for Vettel. But more importantly, who will take Vettels seat? To answer that question, we have to look at the state of the driver's market as most drivers are coming out of contract at the end of this COVID-19 battered season.

Hamilton is out of contract and currently in negotiations with Mercedes, Whom l think would be more keen than ever to wrap up the agreement asap now. A Hamilton switch to Ferreari has been in the grapevine for a while now and it seems like the sort of sensation that could happen in these crazy times.

Carlos Sainz has been suggested as a potential candidate for the Ferrari seat. Ricciado had talks with Ferrari in the past which were unfruitful. But this time round may be more conducive for both parties. Bottas is also a possibility because he is the most accomplished of the three. A wild outlier is the return of Alonso to Ferrari. It sounds far fetched but is equally likely. Equally far fetched is Verstapenn taking up the seat, but very likely if Ferrari put their mind to it.

So What about Vettel, where to from here?

One posibility is that he may retire early. After Canada, his heart did not seem to be in it anymore. He certainly has nothing else to prove. He has won four driver's title consecutively. I don't think there are many real contenders for that accolade.

The other possibility is, he swap seats with one of the Mercedes drivers. This one make more sense as he would be moving from one top team to another. But pairing up with Hamilton may be as unattractive as pairing up with Verstapenn in a Redbull. Redbull has stated that there is no way back to the team for Vettel. Which leaves the next best [non-Ferrari powered] teams, Mclaren or Racing Point. But can they afford him?

Vettel may well follow Alonso's path and head to Mclaren. They obviously look like a team on a clear upwards trajectory with their fourth place in the 2019 season. With the new rules coming into play in 2022, Mclaren would be a very good bet as a team likely to give him another shot at the driver's title.

That said, The racing point of 2020 looked like the car to snatch fourth spot this season. Unfortunately, we are deprived of seeing how well the Mercedes looking car would go. I doubt Racing point would be an attractive proposition for Vettel. The same could be said for Renault.