Sebastian Vettel will return to F1 "because we're interested in him", claims British world champion

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill feels that Sebastian Vettel will make a return to the sport in some capacity. Vettel announced his retirement from the sport at the end of the 2022 F1 season. However, the former Williams driver feels we have not seen the last of Sebastian Vettel.

On the F1 Nation podcast, Damon Hill felt that Vettel needed a bit of space and perspective away from the sport but in due time he will realize that with respect to the world, F1 is still very small. Over the course of time, Sebastian Vettel will realize that there's only so much you can do to bring change and there are things out of his control. That is exactly what will bring Vettel back to the sport, Hill said,

“We haven’t seen the last of him. He’ll be back in Formula 1 in some capacity because we’re interested in him. He has been a huge part of this sport, so he will be back to contribute in some way. But I think he probably needs a bit of space and perspective – that certainly was my experience. It’s blinding, this sport. You see the world from the paddock, from the grid, from your cockpit, and to be able to stand back from all of that and see Formula 1 in the context of everything that’s happening in the world… F1 will never look small, but it’s not the dominant story in the world."

He added,

“I think that’s where someone like Seb can’t help but know that there’s something else going on and that you can’t control the world. F1 cannot… it is limited in what it can do to solve all the world’s problems. He will be able to wake up in 2023 and make his own schedule, which is liberating but also quite scary. But he’s very young. I stopped when I was 40, he’s 35/36. So he’s still very young really.”

Hill attributes Sebastian Vettel's reignited form to his decision to retire

Looking back at Sebastian Vettel's late-season surge, Damon Hill felt that it had more to do with the German announcing his retirement and hence a release of pressure on his side. He said,

“It is really interesting. I think the psychology of any sport is fascinating but I’m particularly interested in how drivers can reignite that passion for driving. Once, if they’ve got a tiny bit of doubt, you’re doubting whether you want to be a racing driver anymore, are you enjoying it? It’s very difficult to perform well. Once he’d made that decision, ‘I’m not going to be a racing driver’ and suddenly he went back to driving, he’s gone back to enjoying it just for the sake of driving: ‘I’m in an F1 car, I’m going to enjoy myself’ and, suddenly, he’s delivering!”

It will be interesting to see if Sebastian Vettel ever makes a return to F1. Having said that, the fans will certainly miss the charismatic German on and off the track.