Vettel renewed his contract! – Now what?

If at all Mark Webber wanted to stay, he would want a different teammate (need I even mention Turkey 2010, Silverstone 2011 and Malaysia 2013?). But we’re going all one sided about this. What about Red Bull, do they need him? Helmut Marko has made it very clear to the viewers that Webber is most likely to leave the world champion team by the end of this season. Being the adviser of the team, you would want to listen to him. ‘The rumor’ has escalated to such an extent that we started finding Mark Webber’s replacement for next year. Possibilities are posing high for Kimi Raikkonen, a good friend of Vettel and a worthy opponent. The tales of the eccentric Iceman are legendary. Talk less and do much is his motto. And it’s time we saw some serious racing between 2 world champion friends in a top, winning team. On the other hand, we have the two Red Bull juniors (Toro Rosso drivers), Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric-Vergne – both immensely talented but lacking the experience. If one of them is to get into the ‘senior’ Red Bull team, then we will see a clear number 1 and 2 driver at Red Bull once again.

Infinti is one of the biggest sponsors of Sebastian, and the new contract will put a huge smile on their faces. Vettel, being the ‘Director of Performance’ of Infiniti since March, has had the opportunity to have a range of his own cars, developing other road cars and of course, testing new and upcoming tracks. And renewing his contract with Red Bull racing, or should I say ‘Infiniti Red Bull racing’, would be huge for Vettel and Infiniti.

Sebastian Vettel and Adrian Newey in Red Bull are the X-Men of Formula One. We have seen how the partnership has been – dominating each year, fighting with the best drivers for the championship. By the looks of it, 2013 (and the future) will again see this German contending for the title. This might be bad news for Alonso, who has fought with him twice in 3 years and lost. And of course, the other world champions. But that’s what Formula One needs, great battles and some passionate drivers. Yes, seeing the same driver win over and over again did and will affect ticket sales and viewership, but that’s what one has to take being on top of the world! Remember Michael Schumacher from 2000-2004?

These are the takeaways from Vettel’s new contract. But it’s time Sebastian Vettel made a brave move to prove his worth in some other team than Red Bull. We know he’s unbeatable in Adrian-designed cars, and no doubt he has immense talent. But what we really want is to see him take a different route like Hamilton did. Join a new team. Hoping for the ‘move’ after 2015!