Other series already queuing up to welcome Sebastian Vettel

Mark Scott
Sebastian Vettel in the garage with his helmet on looking at the camera. Miami May 2022

Sebastian Vettel in the garage with his helmet and hans on looking at the camera. Miami May 2022

Representatives from both Formula E and DTM have expressed their wishes to see Sebastian Vettel driving in their respective series in the near future.

The four-time World Champion will wave goodbye to Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 campaign and is considering what is due to be an enormous wealth of options about what the next chapter could be for the 35-year-old.

It would be surprising to see Vettel never take to the wheel again given he does still have time on his side, and judging by the initial reaction just weeks after his announcement, he is not going to be short of offers to race in other series away from Formula 1.

Ex-F1 driver turned Formula E World Champion Lucas Di Grassi and DTM boss Gerhard Berger are both willing to welcome Vettel with open arms.

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“It would be a pleasure to have him racing with us,” Di Grassi said, as quoted by Italian publication Motorbox.

“But I don’t think it will happen!

“Formula E is a very difficult environment, although with the new Gen 3 cars everything starts from scratch, so it would be the perfect time for someone to jump in and I’m sure he would be competitive.

“It just takes time, Formula E is a very special racing series and you don’t have free practice sessions or test days, so it takes time, but it would be a pleasure to have him racing with us.”

Di Grassi also thinks Formula E would be a better fit for Vettel because of how passionately believes in projects that help protect the environment.

“We raced together many times, especially in Formula 3, and it would be great to see him racing here,” Di Grassi continued.

“I think a lot of the sustainability talk in F1 is not really making any difference, like saying ‘don’t use fossil fuels’ and then being sponsored by Aramco.

“Vettel has become, in recent years, aware of the state of the world and what he can do to make it better.

“He uses his status as a sportsman to try to make the world a better place. He could just do his races and then stop and buy a boat and stay in it somewhere, so I think that is very noble of him.”

Like Di Grassi, Berger also believes that Vettel’s future may lie elsewhere – but left the door open should he be interested in DTM.

“Of course, I’d be very happy if he doesn’t forget about the DTM,” he said.

“But I could also well imagine that his future will primarily take place outside of motorsport.”