Sebastian Vettel makes decision on coming out of F1 retirement as racing plans updated

Sebastian Vettel has ruled out any chance of an F1 comeback, stating that his journey at the top of open-wheel racing is 'over'. However, the four-time world champion is still keen on venturing into the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the future. Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season with the hopes of spending more time with his family and pursuing passions outside of motorsport.

This has led him on an interesting path, working on environmental projects, promoting women's karting in Saudi Arabia, and even heading back into education. However, Vettel has never strayed too far from the motorsport world throughout. He has since made appearances in the Suzuka and Imola paddocks and was even briefly touted as a replacement for Sergio Perez at Red Bull, or Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2024. Neither rumour materialised, though, and the 38-year-old remains on the sidelines.

"Formula One is over," he told Auto Motor und Sport ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. "At some point, the time is ripe to leave the field to others. You can see that especially with the rookies.

"I think it's good that a whole group of drivers has been replaced. This isn't a vote against the old drivers, but rather for the young drivers. I didn't care in the past which of the established drivers was no longer racing. The main thing is that I get to drive."

While Vettel is finished with open-wheel racing, the former Red Bull and Ferrari legend is still interested in competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and even putting together a full-time programme in the WEC.

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The German racer even completed test drives in Porsche's 963 Hypercar, but he was not selected in the manufacturer's 24 Hours of Le Mans line-ups for either 2024 or 2025. "I don't want to rule out the possibility that something might come of it," he said. "There have been discussions, but somehow it hasn't worked out yet."

Discussing his change in attitude towards WEC racing, Vettel continued: "To be honest, I wasn't that interested in endurance racing from my lone fighter perspective. I see it differently now. I find it incredibly exciting, this team structure, sharing a car, and making compromises."

He added: "In motorsport, it's difficult to say: I'll only drive half the races. The WEC would actually be a good fit with its eight races, which are also structured differently than Formula One."