Contract situation no worry for Vettel
BMW-Sauber's third driver Sebastian Vettel insists that his Formula One future is not being clouded by his contractual situation with Red Bull
Although the German is currently a BMW driver, he has a long-term contract with Red Bull that is believed to give them first call on his services in future years.
That situation has prompted speculation that BMW-Sauber may be reluctant to commit to the youngster, because they would merely be grooming him for a future career elsewhere.
Vettel insists, however, that there is no dispute between BMW and Red Bull on his future, even though his programme for 2007 and beyond has not yet been sorted.
"There is no fight or anything," he said. "There is no problem at all between BMW and Red Bull.
"In some newspapers they have written that I am only at BMW now, and then I will definitely move to Red Bull in 2009. I am not allowed to speak about what is in the contract, but what you read in the newspapers is not really right."
Although Vettel will not go into details about how his deals with Red Bull and BMW work, he claims that both teams are happy with the current situation.
"I have got Red Bull and BMW, and in common we have a contract. It is not Red Bull and I, or BMW and I. There is a real community feeling about it. Since the beginning of 2005 we said we wanted to work together and work out what we could do.
"Since then nothing has changed. We do not have a new contract now, and we are not talking about a new contract for next year."
Vettel is likely to move up to GP2 next season, but he said he wants to continue regularly testing in F1. A decision will only be made once his F1 and F3 Euroseries commitments are over later this month.
"I've got Suzuka now, then next weekend it is Le Mans for F3, then the Brazilian Grand Prix and then Hockenheim (for the F3 Euroseries season finale). So I've got four events, left and in two of them I am fighting for a title.
"We will discuss everything afterwards, but for sure GP2 is an option. I've had the chance to gain some serious experience in F1, because otherwise I would not be here, and my target for next year is to get even more experience in F1 plus do some racing."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Jon Noble: An unfair perception or a genuine concern? Lifting the lid on Red Bull’s Tsunoda scepticism
Vettel claims F1 is losing its DNA – but does it even exist?
Vettel reveals advice he gave to Hamilton for Ferrari switch
The contrasting fortunes of F1's big-name moves to Ferrari
WRC Canary Islands: Ogier heads Toyota 1-2-3-4-5 after dominant Friday
Why Marquez can only "survive" in Spanish GP despite return to full fitness
What Apple TV’s F1® coverage delivers for fans in the U.S.
What other tracks should return to the F1 calendar? Our writers have their say
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments