Adrian Newey “can’t see” Sebastian Vettel making F1 return amid Audi rumours

Adrian Newey “can’t see” Sebastian Vettel coming out of retirement to race in F1 again.

Vettel called time on his F1 career at the end of 2022 following three uncompetitive seasons.

The German has since been rumoured with a return, with strenuous links to Mercedes and Red Bull at times.

More recently, Vettel has been rumoured to be in contention to join Audi, with Sauber still undecided on which driver will partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2025.

Audi boss Mattia Binotto addressed the talk around Vettel recently in an interview with Sky Germany.

Binotto said: “Vettel? Knowing him, you appreciate his greatness as a person even before as a driver.”

Speaking on the High Performance podcast, Newey was asked about the drivers he’s worked with previously.

When talking about Vettel he said: “Sebastian, he rang up the other day. He’s travelling through Norway with his motorhome.”

Podcast host Jake Humphrey mentioned the rumours about a possible F1 return.

Newey responded: “I can’t see that. He’s enjoying his life. He’s moved on and doing different things. Fair play to him.”

What has Vettel said previously?

Vettel spoke about returning to F1 in April when he was linked with a possible return to Mercedes alongside George Russell.

Mercedes ultimately opted for Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

“I think it depends on the package,” Vettel said to Sky Sports in April when asked about racing in F1 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.”