Sebastian Vettel’s contract extension with Red Bull must have caused some worries among his rivals as it sends a clear signal: The three-time champion and his team are looking for even more success.
Vettel earlier this week signed a contract extension that will see him with Red Bull until the end of 2015 and should allow him to fully concentrate on winning a fourth consecutive world championship.
The extension ensures stability for Red Bull as the important members of the team — like team boss Christian Horner and designer Adrian Newey -- have long-term contracts.
“You have to be happy in your team and have a competitive car. At the moment, I have both,” Vettel said.
Signing the contract should also put an end to ongoing speculation that the German championship leader will soon be moving to Ferrari or Mercedes.
Instead, the 25-year-old racer continues to trust his team, which already supported him at the beginning of his career.
He is the clear number one and has an established team working for him, as he helped Red Bull become only the fourth team in Formula One history to win at least three consecutive constructors’ championships last season.
At the beginning of the season, Horner extended his contract until 2017, while Newey — who is widely accredited with Red Bull’s dominance -- has resisted all attempts to lure him away from the team.
“He gives me the confidence and designs the best cars in the world. It is a great experience to work with him and I think we could become even better,” Vettel said a short while ago.
Newey was one of the reasons why Vettel extended his contract, believing that the Brit will also be able to build highly competitive cars after wide-ranging changes to the regulations are introduced for next year.
The main change is that the engines will be six-cylinder turbos from next year, resulting in changes to energy recovery and fuel restrictions.
Vettel could have left the team at the end of 2014 if the next years’ car was not competitive enough, but after signing the extension, he will remain with the team at least until the end of 2015.
Red Bull would presumably like to keep Vettel under contract until he retires. “He is becoming stronger and better,” Horner said after Vettel won the last race in Canada. “The impressive thing is that he continues to strive to better himself. He wants to achieve as much as possible,” he had added. The one question remaining is who Vettel’s team-mate will be in the next season.
Mark Webber’s contract expires at the end of the year and it seems likely that the 37-year-old Australian, who has had a number of spats with Vettel, will leave when it does.
Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen is considered the favourite to take over Webber’s spot, while Toro Rosso drivers Jean-Éric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo are also in the running.
