Haas won’t bid for Vettel because ‘he won’t go back to midfield'

Guenther Steiner has joked he wouldn’t make a pitch to sign Sebastian Vettel to the Haas F1 team for 2021 partly because he cannot afford him, but also because he doesn’t expect him to take a punt on a midfield team.

Earlier this month Vettel confirmed he would be exiting Ferrari at the end of the 2020 F1 season, though it remains to be seen whether he’s scouting for a new drive or whether he will call time on a career that has yielded four world titles.

As it stands, Vettel’s options are fairly slim with Red Bull already ruling out getting the German back into its team, while Mercedes is likely to be hesitant lining him alongside Lewis Hamilton, despite some interest from top brass in Germany.

With no room at McLaren, Vettel’s most plausible option at the moment appears to be a move to Renault, though the French firm is still reeling from the sudden departure of Daniel Ricciardo and says it won’t be rushing to make a decision on its 2021 driver line-up as a result.

Moving further into the mid-field, there is some speculation that Aston Martin – which will rebrand the Racing Point team in 2021 – could make a move for Vettel provided its investment into the team is substantial enough to turn it into a front-runner.

For Steiner though, he doesn’t believe Vettel would be keen on moving to a significantly smaller team next season if he can avoid it.

“I cannot afford it!" he told Sky Sports F1 when asked whether Haas could mount an offer. "I think Sebastian, being a four-time world champion, I wouldn't say he'd want to go to the midfield anymore.

"If you have a successful career, what you don't want to do is to take too many risks. I've got a good relationship with him but I haven't offered him a seat. I think somebody else with a lot deeper pockets than me will do that!"