Helmut Marko on Sebastian Vettel F1 comeback: “I think he wants it, if…”

Sebastian Vettel  wants an F1 return, but only in a front-running car, claims Red Bull’s Helmut Marko.

The four-time F1 champion has teased a potential comeback amid the driver market ramping up ahead of 2025, when Lewis Hamilton will go to Ferrari.

Mercedes still have a significant vacancy to fill, as a result.

Marko told Sky Germany on Friday at the F1 Chinese Grand Prix about Vettel’s wish to return to the grid: "I think he wants it if he sees the chance to get a top car somewhere,.

"Then he's ready for it."

But Vettel will not find space at Red Bull, the team where he won his four consecutive Formula 1 championships, Marko confirmed.

Although Sergio Perez’s contract as Max Verstappen’s teammate is expiring, he is in-form and in the mix for a renewal.

Ferrari, where Vettel underwhelmed after a high-profile switch in 2015, have locked in Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for next year and beyond.

Aston Martin, Vettel’s final F1 team before his retirement in 2022, have tied down Fernando Alonso, removing a key seat and a major driver option from the market.

McLaren are assured of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

It leaves Mercedes as the only possibility in one of the better F1 cars for next year.

Vettel’s hero Michael Schumacher came out of retirement to spearhead a new era at Mercedes successfully.

But Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Carlos Sainz are also options for Mercedes to replace Hamilton.

Audi are a German powerhouse who may want a German legend but they do not enter F1 properly until 2016, and will continue running as Sauber next year.

Vettel is still only 36. This is the second season without him on the grid since his retirement.

But the noises around a comeback have got louder.

"I heard that Sebastian Vettel wants to drive a car again,” Ralf Schumacher previously told Sky Germany.

Vettel told Sky earlier this season that an F1 return “depends on the package”.

He said: "I retired from Formula 1 not to come back, but I also did say that you never know. So I think it still stands.

"Obviously, there's things that I miss, which is mostly the competition. And things that I don't miss, so that hasn't changed. Obviously, life is very different if you're not involved and I do enjoy that still.”

Vettel added to the BBC: "I'm having thoughts that are crossing my mind and thinking about [a return].”