Helmut Marko teases possible Red Bull return for Sebastian Vettel
The four-time champion bowed out of F1 as a driver at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, calling time on an illustrious career.
Vettel enjoyed the majority of his success with Red Bull, winning all four of his titles with the team.
Putting his on-track success aside, Vettel received the respect of his peers for the way he acted off it.
Marko reckons Vettel could make a return to F1 in a “top management position”, even potentially replacing the 79-year-old Austrian as head of the young driver programme.
“It’s not out of the question he will come back in a top management position,” Marko told Sky. “We had a discussion and I think if he could get a top management position, that might appeal to him. That’s what emerged in the talk.
“But now we’ll let him plant some trees for once and then we’ll see what happens. He would certainly have the potential and he would have that personality for it. We have heard the message. We have two teams. We are open. But Sebastian, it’s a serious difference – as top management you have to be there earlier, leave later and you only get a fraction of the money you are used to as a driver!”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Vettel has the skills and adaptability to do any role he wants.
“He’s one of those guys who is annoyingly good at everything they tackle. I’m sure if he decided to go down that career path, I’m sure he’d be very good at it,” Horner added.
“He’s a judge of character. He understands the value of people and he understands the contribution they make to success. It’s entirely up to him which topics he wants to devote himself to now.”
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