Red Bull return for Sebastian Vettel "wasn't an option" says driver boss Dr Helmut

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Bringing Sebastian Vettel back to red Bull "wasn't an option" says Red Bull Driver programme boss Dr Helmut Marko.

Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel was told prior to the start of the 2020 campaign that he would not continue to partner Charles Leclerc at Ferrari for season 2021, Since then Vettel' s confidence has never recovered as the German driver experienced his poorest season in Formula One.

Despite Ferrari suffering one of their worst seasons to date, finishing 6th in the constructors Championship; Vettel fell to 13th in the Drivers Championship while being consistently outperformed by his teammate Charles Leclerc who finished in 8th.

Despite suffering last season, Vettel will leave Ferrari as their fourth most successful driver in their history behind: Schumacher, Lauda and Kimi Räikkönen.

However, the most successful period of Sebastian Vettel's career came at Red Bull where he won four successive Drivers Championships between 2010-2013.

The replacement of Vettel at Ferrari with McLaren's Carlos Sainz sparked rampant speculation over Vettel's future within F1.

Meanwhile Alex Albon's future with the Red Bull team was shrouded in uncertainty following poor performances in the RB16. However, Red Bull took the surprising decision to sign a driver out with their programme in Racing Point's, Sergio Perez. So, could Vettel have posed a better option for Red Bull?

Red Bull's Driver Programme Boss Dr Helmut Marko told MotorsportTotal:

"No. When we decided to replace Albon, Vettel was no longer available."

Vettel had already filled the remaining seat at Racing point, who will race under the Aston Martin banner next season. He will partner Team owner Lawrence Strolls son, Lance.

Marko later admitted that after the season Vettel had, it was unlikely of him being worthy of a possible Championship winning seat.

"How far he was disadvantaged materially, I can't say. But he made, it has to be said, far too many mistakes of his own."

"With the crash at Hockenheim, the uncertainty set in and the driving was then often not Vettel level."

F1 fans around the world will be watching Vettel' s performances next season with curiosity to see if he can recapture his prime form with Aston Martin.