Sebastian Vettel has stated that he has no regrets about his decision to leave Red Bull, and that he did not believe it was a viable option in the first place.
After being informed that he was be leaving Ferrari, the four-time World Champion was left looking for a seat in 2020, and was eventually pulled in to replace Sergio Perez at Aston Martin, formerly Racing Point.
While Perez stated that being moved aside for Vettel was not a major “low point” for him, it did result in a scramble for the Mexican to gain a drive for 2021, and he eventually ended up taking Alex Albon’s position at Red Bull for the season.
While Perez admits that qualifying has been his weak spot this season, he has impressed on Sundays and won his first race as a Red Bull driver last time out in Azerbaijan, with Vettel finishing second.
The German also praised Perez, saying he has earned the right to race near the front on a regular basis because to his outstanding efforts in midfield cars over the years.
“No I don’t regret [not returning to Red Bull] and I don’t think it was an option,” Vettel explained to reporters at Paul Ricard, while sat next to Perez in their pre-race press conference.
“Obviously I decided to go in a new direction and join a new team with Aston Martin on a new journey and I’m very happy about that.
“And in all honesty, and this I really mean from the heart, I’m very happy that Checo got a great seat because he deserves it.
“He’s shown it not just with a win but he’s shown it with the last 10 years or something like that, that he’s been in Formula 1, and he deserves to be in a great car.”
With Red Bull now competing on a level playing field with Mercedes for both titles, and Vettel having won all four Drivers’ Championships with the Milton Keynes-based team, Vettel expressed his delight for his former team and Perez as they continue to impress in 2021.
He added: “I’m happy that Red Bull have a great car for two reasons: one, I obviously know a big part of the team, but obviously for Checo that he gets to enjoy the fact that you go to a race and you know that you have a car that you can fight for the win with.”
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