Retirement could be just around the corner for quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel.
That is the view of Dr Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s notorious junior driver program who powered the now 35-year-old’s Formula 1 success.
After Red Bull, Vettel struggled to match that success at Ferrari and especially now at Aston Martin, who are struggling with the green 2022 car.
"If he doesn’t see any light at the end of this tunnel, then I assume he will retire," Marko told the German broadcaster RTL in Austria.
The 79-year-old Austrian said Vettel’s 2022 car is "slow from the ground up", even though the B-version of the single seater has been called a ’green Red Bull’.
"A lot will depend on how the team develops the car," Marko explained, agreeing that the B-version has a "very great similarity" to the current championship-leading Red Bull.
"If they can also copy what is under the hood, then he would have a relatively competitive package," he added. "And if he has that, I think he will continue."
Vettel told Sport1 at the Red Bull Ring that he will give thought to a 2023 contract "in the coming weeks".
"It also depends on the direction in which the car is developing and how much potential I see in the team," said the German.
"I’ve emphasised several times that I want to fight not only for points but also for victories, otherwise the fun is lost.
"So over the next few weeks, together with my family, I have to be clear about how realistic my goals are and how much energy I still feel in me to continue growing together with the team," Vettel added.
When asked if a change of team could be on the cards, he answered: "I’m not thinking about that at the moment.
"Aston Martin is my first point of contact and the project I want to move forward with."