"I haven’t spoken to Christian in ages" - Sebastian Vettel says news of talks with Red Bull team principal 'not true'

Sebastian Vettel has refuted rumors suggesting that he is considering a move back to Red Bull for 2023. The German claimed that he hasn’t spoken to his former team boss Christian Horner in a while, terming the rumors as untrue. Speaking to RN365 following the Imola GP, Vettel said:

“I haven’t spoken with Christian for a while. [It’s] not true.”

Speculation about Vettel’s future in the sport has been mounting in the last few weeks following Aston Martin’s struggles. The four-time F1 world champion’s current contract with the British squad expires at the end of this season and he has been tipped to either retire from the sport or return to his former team.

Sebastian Vettel himself, however, has refused to make his plans known, saying that he is yet to decide on what path he’ll take. The German claimed to be fully focused on getting Aston Martin back up to the position they want to be in, saying:

“I don’t know, I mean time will tell. At the minute, I think the focus is on the now and on the mountain ahead of us that we [will] try to climb. We won’t climb it in a day, we won’t climb it in the month. But we will choose the path that we climb, which will determine the next three to four years. So that’s why I feel it’s really important to focus on that. It takes all the attention and then... I don’t know.”

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Sebastian Vettel says 2022 performance will decide his future

Sebastian Vettel says his and Aston Martin’s performance throughout the 2022 F1 season will be an important factor in his decisions about the future. Speaking to RN365, he said:

“It’s only race three. It’s new regulations and there are so many things we are currently struggling with when it comes to performance, with our car and extracting the performance. The spirit is good, the team is very willing to be at the front. At the minute we’re not – it’s not a secret, but lots of work [is] going in. It will be very important to set the direction for this year, but also for learning and knowing what to do in the next three to four years.”

Aston Martin are keen to see the German remain with them beyond 2022. Should they fail to improve sufficiently throughout the season, they may lose him.

Having previously said that he would rather retire than compete outside of the points, Vettel will be hoping for a turnaround in Aston Martin’s fortunes as the season progresses.