Red Bull racing has given its blessing to world champion Sebastian Vettel joining Ferrari - but only when he's a lot more grown up and nearing the end of his Formula One career.
Vettel, the youngest ever champion at 23 years old, told Italian reporters on Tuesday that he dreamed of racing for Ferrari one day.
“I think any driver at some stage in his career would like to drive for the red team and we don't hold that against him,” responded team boss Christian Horner in an interview with Reuters at a Motor Sport magazine Hall of Fame event.
“But...for the foreseeable future we see him as a part of Red Bull, he's grown up within the Red Bull family and hopefully for many years to come. Just before he retires he can go to Ferrari,” he smiled.
“If he wants to go to Ferrari just before he retires, then that could be another 10 years away. Or in Michael (Schumacher)'s case 20 years away.”
Vettel's fellow-German Schumacher, a seven times world champion and former Ferrari favourite, made his comeback last year and is gearing up for another season with Mercedes at the age of 42.
The younger champion had told the Gazzetta dello Sport that he hoped one day to stand on the podium at Monza as a Ferrari driver but Horner, whose team won both titles last year, laughed off the comments.
“The Italians get very excited when world champions talk about Ferrari, so maybe he's been dreaming about Ferrari but I think that's about all,” he said.
“One of the things that we encourage is a freedom of expression and so on. Sebastian is his own person and he's got his own opinions,” said Horner.
Vettel has won 10 races in cars designed by Red Bull's Adrian Newey - one for Toro Rosso and the other nine for Red Bull racing.
He and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, a double world champion, both won five races last season but the Italian team were well beaten into third place overall in the constructors' standings.
The young German has repeatedly acknowledged his debt to Austrian-owned Red Bull, who have groomed him for greatness from an early age, and Horner expected the partnership to last.
“For the foreseeable future, and most importantly for the immediate future, he is very much committed to Red Bull and likewise Red Bull committed to him,” he emphasised.
“It's down to us to ensure that we are giving him a quick car and it's down to him to ensure that he's performing, and what driver in the pitlane wouldn't want to drive a Red Bull at the moment?,” said Horner.
“He's an important part of what we do and an important part of how the team moves forward but that is more than a piece of paper or a contract.
“That comes down to relationships, down to trust, down to feeling comfortable in an environment. He's grown up within the Red Bull family and all the success he has achieved within his motorsport career has come within that environment.”
Horner also said Australian Mark Webber, whose contract with the team expires at the end of the season, could stay on after 2011 if he was as quick as last year.
“If he's delivering at the same level as he did in 2010 then why not?,” he said.
Vettel lapped quickest on the first day of testing in Spain this year but other teams - Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Williams - have seized the limelight since that day. Horner said the times meant nothing, however.
“I think it's dangerous to follow the (television) monitor too much,” he said. “In fact sometimes I'd prefer it if the engineers would turn the timing screen off because the times are irrelevant. We are there to learn and go about our preparation and who knows.
“We'll focus on ourselves, which is the approach we have applied for the last two years, and then within a month we'll know where we're at.”
Red Bull won nine races last year, with 15 pole positions and four one-two finishes. The season is due to start in Bahrain on March 13.
“RB7 (the new car) has a lot to live up to but all the initial signs are encouraging,” said Horner. “The drivers like the feel of the car but it's impossible to say until we get to Bahrain.
“And even Bahrain probably won't paint the full picture. Form will ebb and flow over the course of the season and its going to be down to who does the most consistent job.”
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