Audi was announced to be one of the few teams that will be joining the sport by 2026. However, with the way the four-ring manufacturer is working, they have estimated that it might take them only another year to join the teams in 2025.
However, the news came around the same time as Sebastian Vettel has started reevaluating his retirement and is talking about coming back to the field of play. But Audi has their eye on someone else.
Audi is very interested in the idea of signing Esteban Ocon for 2025 according to @Motorsport pic.twitter.com/J4XiZlnNl2
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) October 24, 2023
Sebastian Vettel, not too long ago, talked about wanting to join the sport again. After retiring from Formula 1 in 2022, the driver started focusing more on social causes and making a change in the sport.
However, he has achieved four championships in this sport which may make him want to return to the track and feel the rush of winning again. And as he talked about his time running out, none other than, Esteban Ocon has confirmed it.
Audi recently confirmed that although there are some interesting options to look for by 2025, Esteban Ocon is one of the drivers they are interested in. The Grand Prix winner has seen immense support from his Alpine team who have had him for almost 3 seasons now. However, he was also with Force India for a long time. Needless to say, he now has yet another team that has shown interest in him except for Alpine.
Esteban Ocon can help Sebastian Vettel get his Red Bull comeback
Not too long ago, Vettel was asked whether he wanted to make a comeback in the sport to which he replied it was not out of the picture for him. However, he had a few conditions. The driver spoke about being aware of his age. He also mentioned Hamilton and Alonso as he believed he did not have much time left to return. So he placed his condition saying he would only make a comeback in a Red Bull car.
Sebastian Vettel delighted over 60,000 motorsports fans on Saturday with a comeback drive at the Nordschleife in one of his championship-winning F1 cars at the Red Bull Formula Nürburgring Event. 🐂🇩🇪♻️#F1 #SingaporeGP #Vettel #redbull pic.twitter.com/5vr8cPWjvE
— Crash F1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) September 11, 2023
With Audi wanting Ocon in one of their cars for their first season in F1, Alpine will be open to fill a seat. This also could have Red Bull‘s Sergio Perez returning to Alpine after his 2024 contract expiry, opening a seat for Vettel.
Nonetheless, Vettel said, “I can’t say no, because you don’t know. I think it’s something that if you asked all of them, probably some of them would have said, ‘No’, and some of them, ‘I don’t know’, but in the end, all of them came back, so I can’t exclude it.”
He referred to the likes of Fernando Alonso who had once left the F1 scene and joined the Le Mans Championship. After winning Le Mans, Alonso came back to his beloved sport. Since then the driver has stuck here and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. Lewis Hamilton is another driver, even with nearing his 40s, has stayed in the sport and is fighting for a P2 in the championship standings.
However, Sebastian Vettel has no plans to return anytime soon. Meanwhile, Audi continues to have high hopes for their F1 season and Ocon plans for the future.
