Max Verstappen says ‘there’s always a spot available’ for Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull

Max Verstappen has welcomed the prospect of fellow four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel returning to Red Bull, particularly in a senior capacity, following suggestions the German could succeed veteran consultant Helmut Marko.

Vettel, 37, who secured four consecutive world titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 before retiring from the sport in 2022, has been linked with a potential return to the team where he achieved his greatest successes. Current consultant Helmut Marko, 82, has a contract with Red Bull until the end of next year.

Speaking at the Austrian Grand Prix, Verstappen endorsed the idea of Vettel's comeback. "It's more than normal that someone that has achieved so much with Red Bull, has been brought up by Red Bull (should return)," Verstappen told reporters. "In a sense there's always a spot available, right? I think also Seb always kept a really good relationship with Helmut anyway, even when he left. I didn't know that of course they were talking but I'm sure that there's always a space for Seb in any kind of form."

Vettel himself has confirmed discussions regarding a potential role. "We’re in contact about this, though maybe not so intensively or in-depth yet, but it’s possible," he recently told Austria's ORF television. He added: "He’s already said a few times that he’d stop, but he’s still here, and I wish him all the best so that he stays around for a very long time."

Marko, a close confidant of the team's late owner Dietrich Mateschitz and a key figure in Red Bull's young driver programme, also acknowledged the ongoing dialogue. He told Austria's Kleine Zeitung that Vettel was "following everything very closely," adding: "The question of succession is also one of the issues."