Red Bull Racing issued a statement today confirming that Sebastian Vettel will stay with the team for another two seasons.
Although it was clear that Vettel already had a long term arrangement with RBR the news erases any doubts about him possibly jumping ship in 2015.
The statement read simply: “Infiniti Red Bull Racing is happy to confirm that World Champion Sebastian Vettel has extended his multi-year contract with the team until the end of 2015.”
Adam Cooper F1 
Interesting that Vettel’s contract isn’t aligned with Alonso’s, but is with Hamilton’s.
I would think he would want to explore his other options and prove he is fast in any car. guess he’s too scared.
Why would he be scared? If your winning why change? another hater right here
He already did that in his first drive for BMW Sauber. 😉
yes, but the world does have quite the short memory
More interestingly will be who will line up beside him in the other Red Bull! Not a fan of Seb but he don´t need to change outfit to prove that he´s fast. He was fast in Formula BMW, he was fast in the BMW-Sauber.
I agree, the new RBR team mate is the really interesting story.
There is no point Seb moving a worse team just to prove something? Look at Hamilton (arguably) he’s got very lucky at Mercedes given the McLarens woes, but the trouble he’s having with Rosberg is hardly enhancing his reputation, just as Buttons presence didn’t help that either, you could argue LH is overrated on the last 36 months performances. Senna went to great lengths to get into the best car in the field, and Schumacher took an entire team of people with him to Ferrari to ensure he had a good car. There is no point for a driver to leave a good team unless it’s for money, and Vettel obviously puts success above money.
I’d like to see Kimi alongside Seb next season, apparently they’re good friends off track and I think Kimi fits in with the RBR marketing strategy. To have Raikkonen as your team mate should be challenge enough for any driver on the grid.
I disagree gentlemen; the REALLY interesting story is Adrian Newey’s commitment to the team. I would hope Seb extended his contract knowing Newey will be designing the car for several more years.
Why would Vettel want to go anywhere where he would have to establish himself all over again as the team No. 1? I don’t think any top driver will pair up with Seb at RB because of his status as a reigning 4 time WDC (yes I’m concedeing this year’s results). Revisit the Alonso move to McLaren for the potential mayhem if the team does not support their top dog in the kennel. There is an Alpha dog on every team, some established, others fighting to achieve it.
I think Seb is one of those rare guys who doen’t need a team mate nipping at his heels to peak his performance. Webber certainly has been a let down (somewhat) in that dept. Kimi has the personality to put all that aside (leave me alone…..) but not sure if he would tolerate the heirarchy’s overt favortism to Seb.
Yes, as long as Newey is at RBR Vettel would be foolish to go anywhere else.
“not sure if he would tolerate the heirarchy’s overt favortism to Seb.”
I think Red Bull would happily favour another driver if they could beat Vettel. The problem for Webber is that he’s not fast enough and even with a team mate who offers no support Vettel is on course for WDC number 4.
VETs main rivals this season, Alonso and Kimi, have no such issues, equally I don’t think any of their team mates would be able to beat Webber. Also worth pointing out that last seasons fastest car was a McLaren not a Newey designed car, whilst this season the Ferrari still looks like the pick of the bunch to me (I’m expecting to see it take a win at Silverstone!).
In summary I think the whole Newey thing is overplayed, sure RBR are consistently fast, but if Newey was the genuis folks suggest Webber would always be following Vettel home right (2011 style, and we know how Seb blitzed the field then!)? Mark’s at least on a par with Rosberg, Button and drivers of that ilk, history suggests that there isn’t much between the formentioned drivers and Mr L Hamilton. Whilst that comparison might seem pretty stretched, it’s about the best we have to go on really, because if you look at performances in lesser cars Vettel is the only one to have really starred, heck this Merc is probably equal worst car in Lewis F1 career…
It might be hard to accept for those of us who love racing, but just like the Schumacher domination era I’m starting to wonder if Vettel is just that 1% better than the rest of them? It’s not great for the sport, and the FIA have obviously tried to curtail RBRs pace (just as they used to try with Ferrari), but when someone wins that much you have to start asking what the difference is. Vettel is becoming Rossi-esq at present, a pretty ominous sign.
Spot on. Maybe it wasn’t clear in my rambling comment above, I suspect Vettel is at the top of his game with a superior car designer on hand to boot. AND I would further agree he shows that Schumi-esque performance edge when the chips are down, especialy qualifying.
Ferrari MAY be the only other team that would stack the deck in his favor as long as Alonso is gone. Other then Ferrari he’d be crazy to go elsewhere, right Lewis? We all know the McLaren is a dog, I’m not advocating he should have stayed, merely pointing out the high expectations of a new team can become a severe letdown when reality shows its face.