Vettel not out of retirement for Formula E: 'Words were put in my mouth'

He would have been the ideal candidate, but Sebastian Vettel will not drive for ABT Cupra in Formula E next season. Talks with the four-time Formula 1 world champion are not ongoing, the German team boss told Motorsport-Total, and Vettel will not succeed Robin Frijns next season.

So where did the rumours of Vettel's return to motorsport come from? Thomas Biermaier, the team boss of ABT Cupra had responded to German website Ran when asked who ABT-Cupra wanted to attract? Biermaier initially responded with: "Maybe we will go to Switzerland. There are former drivers there who are committed to the environment and do a lot of sustainability. Maybe one of them will be in our car in the future."

Sebastian Vettel is resident in Switzerland and naturally the journalist mentioned his name in the interview. Biermaier therefore responded that Vettel would be a dream candidate, but with it he did not want to say that the former driver of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, among others, was seriously in the picture at ABT. "I did talk about that name, that name was put in my mouth," he said.

So no Vettel in Formula E. However, ABT-Cupra - which had a dramatic season in Formula E - does have a vacant seat. Frenchman Adrien Tambay, son of ex-F1 driver Patrick, who died late last year, is an option. Kelvin van der Linde, who competed for ABT for three races when Frijns was injured, is also in the picture.