Sebastian Vettel to Mercedes AMG F1 for 2018

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner appears to be sensing a disturbance in the force at rival team Ferrari, that is potentially unsettling German driver Sebastian Vettel.

Christian Horner witnessed the brilliance of quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel first hand as his Milton Keynes based team romped to four consecutive championships with the German driver leading the way. 

I have a feeling that Seb is a bit rattled,” Horner tells German newspaper Sports Bild today.

“I know from personal experience that he has to feel good in order to perform well. And I’m not sure whether he likes the current pressure from Sergio Marchionne (Ferrari president). 

“I can well imagine in 2018 Seb will switch to Mercedes, if he doesn’t start making progress with Ferrari,” Horner added.

The Italian team are currently under attack from their own media for a year that promised so much, but has so far delivered very little. The Red Team’s season will indubitably have many more twists and turns and reports continue in the Italian media that James Allison will leave the squad imminently.

How affected is Sebastian from all this?

Former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger doesn’t appear to believe Vettel will be too concerned yet. “I know him from his Red Bull days,” the former Toro Rosso co-owner tells Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, “and he is a true leader. He never loses heart.”

Of course we should note, Berger is currently managing Nico Rosberg’s contract negotiations with Mercedes.

Further, many F1 observers believe Vettel has demonstrated he can ‘lose heart’, as evidenced by the results of his 2014 season.

Following the third qualifying defeat to his team mate at the first three races in 2014, Vettel remarked: “I don’t want to blame anything on the car, but there are a lot of things that have changed, I don’t need to tell you. The cars are very different, everything underneath the body is very, very different, so I think there is a lot of work to be done to get it back to where I want it.”

This of course never happened and the embarrassment of being beaten by his team mate, surely led to Vettel exiting for Ferrari the following year.

The pull for Daimler Benz of having two world class German drivers in Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in their F1 team is obvious, though Lewis Hamilton’s contract as reported prima facie, runs to the end of 2018.

 

Senior editor at  |  + posts

Craig Alderson is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Craig oversees newsroom operations and coordinates editorial output across the site. With a background in online sports reporting and motorsport magazine editing, he plays a key role in maintaining consistency, speed, and accuracy in TJ13’s coverage.

During race weekends, Craig acts as desk lead, directing contributors, prioritising breaking stories, and ensuring timely publication across a fast-moving news cycle.

Craig’s work focuses heavily on real-time developments in the paddock, including team updates, regulatory decisions, and emerging controversies. This role requires a detailed understanding of Formula 1’s operational flow, from practice sessions through to race-day strategy and post-race fallout.

With experience managing editorial teams, Craig ensures that TJ13 delivers structured, reliable coverage while maintaining the site’s distinctive voice.

Craig has a particular interest in how information moves within the paddock environment, and how rapidly developing stories can be accurately translated into clear, accessible reporting for readers.

11 thoughts on “Sebastian Vettel to Mercedes AMG F1 for 2018”

    • I agree. Sorry to have to say it, but there is a HUGE difference between “I can well imagine in 2018 Seb will switch to Mercedes, if he doesn’t start making progress with Ferrari,” and the Headline ‘SEBASTIAN VETTEL TO MERCEDES AMG F1 FOR 2018’. Sadly the latter smacks of ‘Red Top’ sensationalism, designed to sell newspapers but not necessarily convey news with any degree of accuracy. A simple ? at the end of the headline would make all the difference.

      Reply
  1. Dear judge, I beg you… please go back to the old DN&C style. I love the new flow of articles but it’s impossible to keep an eye on all of them. (Maybe it’s because I only come here on my phone) and many of them don’t get more than one or even zero comments. I think it’s mainly because the articles fall off page one. I’d rather have one article about many items, perhaps updated throughout the day.

    Reply
  2. Yet more click bait – this time generated following speculative comments of the mouthpiece (CH) from the biggest projectors of BS in the paddock (RB)

    do sites like this get paid by RB to regurgitate this fluff, on the basis that it gets them in headlines?

    Reply
    • JA has actually just written about this, and Horner’s motive is blindingly obvious come to think of it…. classic destabilising of ones competitors in advance of both a potentially good weekend and upcoming rule change for 2017…. also will piss off both Wolff and Arrivabenne when they should be focussing on their own game

      Reply

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