Bernie Ecclestone is pushing for Mercedes to sign Sebastian Vettel in a move he says would create a “super, super team”.
Vettel will leave Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season after failing to agree new terms with the Italian outfit, and the German doesn’t currently have a seat for the ’21, with speculation he is eyeing Valtteri Bottas’ seat or retirement.
Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has already teased the idea, suggesting it would make a “good marketing story”, and it’s believed parent company Daimler are keen on the idea.
However it’s likely Wolff wouldn’t want to upset what is currently a well oiled machine which has delivered five successive titles.
Ecclestone thinks it would be a good idea and doesn’t believe Lewis Hamilton – who has always said he would never block a rival becoming his team-mate – would have an issue.
“I’d like to see him at Mercedes,” the former F1 boss told RTL. “Obviously. I’d like to see him against Lewis Hamilton, I think that would be good for Formula 1, good for the sport, good for the people watching.
“I think both of them get along with each other without any problems. It’s not a case of what their egos are, both have super talent. So it would make a super, super team.
“I don’t see any problem with Lewis being concerned at all and I know Sebastian would love to have the opportunity to race against him.”
Ecclestone went on to explain why he believes Vettel has failed to recreate Michael Schumacher’s success at Ferrari and questioned Mattia Binotto’s leadership.
“Michael’s situation with Ferrari was a little bit different because I once said to him, ‘who’s running the team?’ He said ‘I am.’ That’s probably the truth why they’re so successful.
“The trouble with Italians, they haven’t really got a lot of leaders…they haven’t got a leader in my opinion. The person in charge of the team is basically a super engineer, he’s been with Ferrari for more than 20 years.”
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