'Vettel and Hamilton side by side will give Mercedes a lot of headaches'

The news that Vettel will no longer drive for Ferrari from 2021 struck like a bomb, but at the same time did not come as a surprise. Since last year, the German has had a major competitor in the form of Charles Leclerc, who already has a multi-year contract in his pocket.

According to Christian Horner, Vettel will not have made a hasty decision. "Sebastian a thinker. He will have thought about it well, I have no doubt about that", says the team boss in conversation with David Coulthard at Formula1.com. The Briton has worked with the successful German for a long time.

One year's holiday

"What he has achieved in his career is phenomenal, so if he decides there is no competitive car available for him at the end of the year and he quits... then he could come back the following year if he wanted to," Horner explains.

Still, there are rumors that the German may be able to get a seat at Mercedes, but the Briton has his doubts about it. "Maybe they want to give themselves a headache by juxtaposing Lewis Hamilton and Vettel. It would be great for us to see, but from a team perspective it's a lot to take on", concludes the team boss. In any case, there are still plenty of teams that don't have two drivers under contract for 2021.