The 2024 Formula 1 season has started slowly for everyone except Red Bull, who had a big advantage early on, but few could have predicted the ups and downs that have followed since then.

Or before it even starts, with 2024 sparking a wild civil war at Red Bull Christian Horner It was right in the middle of where the cars were being introduced, just before the season started.

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This comes just days after the bombshell news broke Lewis Hamilton Announces He Will Leave Mercedes to Join Ferrari in 2025in one of the most sensational F1 stories of all time.

Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley to leave Red Bull After decades of service between them, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have achieved home grand prix victories that would meet many of a Hollywood screenwriter’s criteria.

Underneath all this chaos, a surprise real title challenge could emerge after the summer break and threaten Red Bull and perhaps even Max Verstappen when the F1 circus returns for the Dutch Grand Prix.

The point of summarising all of the above in a few paragraphs is to remind you that no matter how much you think something is unthinkable in F1, you can still be caught out by a punch from nowhere.

That brings us to the 2025 grid and how it shapes up as we head into the end of the ‘silly season.’ In theory, there are four spots left on the grid – or potentially five if you include the threat of Sergio Perez likely to be fired at the end of 2024 after a tough year and just a few months after he extended his contract (unexpectedly).

But one name seems to have been forgotten in recent months – that of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, whose return to F1 has never been entirely ruled out, but has remained very quiet since 2011. Early season rumours that he will be parachuted into Mercedes in 2025So what are the chances of the German making a remarkable comeback? GPF members He’s looking at potential options that are, in theory, still on the table.

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Vettel was initially considered to replace Hamilton in 2025, but those rumours have quieted down so much in recent months that it is now unlikely to be a serious consideration.

For Mercedes, the favourite is seen as promoting Andrea Kimi Antonelli from the team’s academy, but team boss Toto Wolff is still seen as holding his hand up against the chance of a sensational move against Verstappen from a very volatile Red Bull. Either way – the door looks set to be closed for Vettel here.

Red Bull

On paper, it’s not even viable. Verstappen and Perez are both committed to Red Bull, but the team is in the strange position of neither of them being able to race for them by this time next season. This won’t happen without a huge amount of contract wrangling, but Verstappen’s frustration with Red Bull and Perez’s declining form could mean they both leave the team.

Either way, it opens the door for Vettel. His past success and his relationship with Red Bull should make him a comfortable fit. Verstappen during Mercedes’ moveAt the very least, he’s a good emergency backup for Red Bull. If he replaces Perez, he could provide the needed up-front pace, perhaps a bit behind the Dutchman’s times. If both go, an emergency placement in both roles makes even more sense.

Audi/Sauber

The real joker in the pack. Wheatley’s shock departure from Red Bull for the role of Audi team boss means the idea of ​​an F1 return with Audi/Sauber might be a bit more believable. Nico Hulkenberg is currently the only driver confirmed for 2025, but with all due respect to the German, Audi would need to sign a genuine statement to fire them, and Wheatley could help achieve that given his previous ties to Vettel at Red Bull.

Whether Vettel would want that is another question, but it may have increased in the years since Wheatley was announced. Also remember, Vettel made his F1 debut with the BMW-looking team in 2007 – so there’s a good chance there are positive relationships within the set-up.

VKARB

Let’s go back to where it all (almost) began. Apart from a single race for BMW, Vettel’s early career was spent with Red Bull’s sister team, then known as Toro Rosso, where he won his first race at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. But a return to the team strangely doesn’t make much sense for either side.

Red Bull management want the VCARB team to return to its younger roots, and that doesn’t necessarily mean running a recently retired 37-year-old. There’s a lot of juggling to be done to see who will be where in the Red Bull system in 2025, but with Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda all staying at one of the two teams – it doesn’t make much sense to find a place for Vettel at the sister team.

Alps

This is certainly not a start. Vettel left a mid-level team at Aston Martin at the end of 2022 and given the uncertainty surrounding the team and its future direction following a series of recent exits, it is hard to see why he would want to return to another team that looks to be in slightly worse shape.

Alpine have signed Pierre Gasly and believe it would be more beneficial for them to give youngsters a chance rather than investing in Vettel.

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