- Red Bull
2014 form not a factor in departure - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel says the desire for a new challenge rather than his poor form in 2014 prompted his decision to leave Red Bull, though he is yet to confirm his destination.
Vettel shocked Red Bull and the paddock in Suzuka by telling his team he would be leaving at the end of the current season, with Ferrari widely believed to be the German's destination. After four successive world titles Vettel has struggled in first year of the turbo era, with his downturn in form magnified by team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's remarkable breakthrough season in his first season at Red Bull.
But Vettel insists his 2014 form has nothing to do with his decision, which sees a 15-year association with Red Bull come to an end.
"I think it's a lot of things coming together," Vettel said. "The way you could look at it is 'OK, this year we are not successful, so it feels like the right time' but that's not the case. There's no negative here and that's what makes it so difficult to leave after such a long time.
"I've compared it to the fact that at some point in your life when you grow up at home you decide to move out; after 15 years here together with Red Bull, six years with Red Bull Racing and before with Toro Rosso, it's a big step and feels like leaving home. As I said there is the desire and the hunger to do something new, create something new, and that's what made me decide to shut one door and open another."
Vettel says the length of his association with Red Bull made it a tough decision, but he admits he realised the positives of a move could outweigh the pain of leaving familiar surroundings.
"A decision like that obviously doesn't happen overnight. As you can imagine it's always a big step when a very, very good relationship comes to an end but it has nothing negative in the air at all. It's not like I'm leaving here because I don't like it anymore or don't like people anymore, it's not like that and that's what made those sort of decisions so difficult for me after such a long and successful time together.
"Whoever is leading the team here, I spoke to them. I spoke to Dietrich and it's not easy, not an easy decision and the consequences are not easy to deal with - so in that regard it would have been easier to do nothing and stay put. It's not a decision I took looking at the consequences, it's a decision that felt right and obviously consequences are very hard to deal with and the positives of deciding something new were bigger, are bigger, hence why I'm looking forward to the next step."
When asked about Ferrari, Vettel replied: "it's not the first time I got offers from other people. I cannot officially announce anything but very shortly I think I will be able to. The decision I made, I believe in the decision and as I said earlier I think it is a step that will make me very happy. The desire for something new was bigger [than anything else]."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
