F1 News: Sebastian Vettel reveals Mercedes talks during Ferrari years
Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he briefly held discussions with Mercedes about joining forces with Lewis Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have battled fiercely for F1 glory in the last decade, with the height of their rivalry being the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Though ultimately in vain, Vettel led Ferrari's charge to dethrone Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton as the Silver Arrows established themselves as the dominant force in the sport.
Vettel's love and affinity for Ferrari is well documented, so it is unsurprising that he was uninterested in making the switch.
Speaking on the 'Beyond the grid Podcast', Vettel provides some insight:
"I mean, I spoke with Niki... halfway through the Ferrari period about joining.
"It obviously would have been a big deal because Lewis was sort of their number one.
"And I'm not sure if they would have liked to have us both in the team.
"But I also didn't have a great interest at that time because I was so committed to Ferrari, and it was my dream to make that work
"So you talk to each other, but it wasn't really serious."
Fans often hypothesise and debate how legends like Vettel and Hamilton would match up in the same machinery, so it is frustrating to know that Mercedes at one stage considered this driver lineup.
Ultimately though, as Vettel himself mentioned, Mercedes made a relatively conservative decision with the driver they chose to replace Rosberg at the end of 2016.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry from 2014-16, it seems unlikely that the Silver Arrows would have been keen on creating a similarly tense dynamic within the team.
Still, as this year has shown, the F1 driver market is incredibly unpredictable and seemingly impossible transfers are often closer to reality than it might seem.