Sebastian Vettel to Audi? New boss Mattia Binotto put on the spot

Mattia Binotto was quizzed about bringing Sebastian Vettel out of retirement for Audi.

F1 legend Vettel retired at the end of 2022 after a stint with Aston Martin but, this year, teased a comeback.

Audi, who will run as Sauber until a full evolution into the mighty German brand in 2026, still have one vacant race seat in 2025.

New Audi boss Binotto was asked if one of Germany’s sporting icons could be brought back to represent the manufacturer from his home country.

"I love Sebastian,” Binotto was quoted by Sport.de.

“I know him well from the past and appreciate working with him.

“I know how strong he is as a person and as a driver."

Binotto was chief technical officer at Ferrari when Vettel arrived in a mega-money deal.

But Vettel was never able to add to the four championships he won at Red Bull in an ill-fated spell at Ferrari.

Binotto eventually became Ferrari team principal but could not end their barren streak of F1 titles, which stretches back to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

After being replaced by Fred Vasseur, Binotto made an F1 comeback this year when he got the job as Audi’s Chief Operating and Chief Technical Officer.

Vettel teased a return

Vettel spoke about returning to racing in F1 earlier this year, when Mercedes were debating who might replace Lewis Hamilton.

Mercedes have since settled on Kimi Antonelli.

But Vettel floated his own name, in what would have been a fairytale U-turn on retirement in identical fashion to Michael Schumacher who came back to drive for Mercedes.

“I think it depends on the package,” Vettel said to Sky Sports in April when asked about racing again.

"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.”