Vettel to keep Ferrari F1 pay cut talks private

Sebastian Vettel has confirmed he is in discussions with Ferrari about taking a pay cut due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, but insists details of any decision will be kept private.

Half of the grid have furloughed some of their staff, with McLaren, Williams, Racing Point and Haas’ drivers agreeing to a temporary pay reduction to try and ease the financial uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ferrari has not placed its staff on an enforced leave of absence but Vettel, who is in the final year of his contract and currently negotiating a new deal at Maranello, revealed he is also holding talks about a pay cut.

“It is definitely something I am talking about with the team,” Vettel said during a video conference call to selected media from his home in Switzerland.

“As I said earlier, we don’t know yet how the season will look and when it will start and how many races we will have etc.

“I’ve always kept whatever decisions I made on this front between the team and myself and it will be the same this time. I’m not keen to use this point at this time as an image polish or anything like that.

“What I’ve decided to do in the past it has been quiet and it will be the same now.”

Amid a lack of racing with the opening nine races of the 2020 F1 season postponed, the four-time world champion admitted he is missing the sensation of driving “a lot” but is determined to remain sharp for when the campaign can resume.

“A lot of my time is spent training,” Vettel explained. “It’s similar to a winter progamme.

“The nicer thing right now is that you can go outside for a lot of the stuff because it’s getting a bit warmer, jumping on the bike etc. That will help me physically and mentally to stay sharp.

“I miss it a lot being in the car. That sensation of driving, there’s nothing really that can replace that, so that’s what we’re waiting for.

"It gives a chance to reflect and it’s quite intimate time with family as well. Obviously the circumstances that led to it are not nice at all but we’re trying to make the best out of it.”