MOTORSPORT: Ricciardo in Ferrari frame as Vettel quits

Sebastian Vettel will vacate his seat in the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team at the end of this season, leading to intense speculation about who will replace him.

While European reports insist McLaren’s Carlos Sainz is the odds-on favourite for one of the most coveted grid slots in F1, carsales global ambassador Daniel Ricciardo is surely also in the frame for a seat with the top three team.

According to motorsport.com, Ricciardo has decided to leave Renault when his contract expires at the of 2020, following the seven-time GP winner’s lacklustre year with the French factory team.

Reports claiming Ricciardo has already met ‘informally’ with Ferrari and that Vettel has received a “concrete offer” from Renault have led to speculation the four-time F1 world champion and ‘the honey badger’ may swap F1 seats in 2021.

However, our Dan has not ruled out a return to Red Bull Racing, the team he left after 2018, and he could also end up at McLaren if Sainz joins the Maranello outfit.

Six-time F1 world champ Lewis Hamilton has long been put forward as a Ferrari candidate but recently described Mercedes-AMG – with which he is yet to re-sign for 2021 – as the ‘dream team’, seemingly ruling that out.

After leaking out earlier today, the apparently amicable split between Ferrari and Vettel was officially announced tonight, although Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims the contract renewal fell through because of its short duration and a salary reduction, which Vettel denies.

“This is a decision taken jointly by ourselves and Sebastian, one which both parties feel is for the best,” said Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto.

“It was not an easy decision to reach, given Sebastian’s worth as a driver and as a person. There was no specific reason that led to this decision, apart from the common and amicable belief that the time had come to go our separate ways in order to reach our respective objectives.

“Sebastian is already part of the Scuderia’s history, with his 14 Grands Prix wins making him the third most successful driver for the team, while he is also the one who has scored the most points with us.

“In our five years together, he has finished in the top three of the Drivers’ Championship three times, making a significant contribution to the team’s constant presence in the top three of the Constructors’ classification.

“On behalf of everyone at Ferrari, I want to thank Sebastian for his great professionalism and the human qualities he has displayed over these five years, during which we shared so many great moments.

“We have not yet managed to win a world title together, which would be a fifth for him, but we believe that we can still get a lot out of this unusual 2020 season.”

For his part, Vettel suggested he needed a break from Ferrari, where his current teammate Charles LeClerc is expected to assume the number one driver spot after signing a five-year contract with the Italian team last year, and perhaps even the world’s premier motorsport category.

“My relationship with Scuderia Ferrari will finish at the end of 2020. In order to get the best possible results in this sport, it’s vital for all parties to work in perfect harmony,” he said.

“The team and I have realised that there is no longer a common desire to stay together beyond the end of this season. Financial matters have played no part in this joint decision. That’s not the way I think when it comes to making certain choices and it never will be.

“What’s been happening in these past few months has led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life. One needs to use one’s imagination and to adopt a new approach to a situation that has changed. I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future.

“Scuderia Ferrari occupies a special place in Formula 1 and I hope it gets all the success it deserves. Finally, I want to thank the whole Ferrari family and above all its ‘tifosi’ all around the world, for the support they have given me over the years.

“My immediate goal is to finish my long stint with Ferrari, in the hope of sharing some more beautiful moments together, to add to all those we have enjoyed so far.”