No pressure for Vettel in 2020 – Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone wants Mercedes to sign Vettel

(GMM) Sebastian Vettel will put his throttle to the floor when he contests his last races with Ferrari later in 2020.

That is the prediction of the quadruple world champion's friend and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

"Don't underestimate who Sebastian gets plenty of counsel from – Bernie," Vettel's former Red Bull teammate Mark Webber says.

Ecclestone, 89, said Vettel and Ferrari parted because the working relationship had broken down.

"It never worked really," Ecclestone told the German weekly Sport Bild.

"They never gave the impression of working as a team and having fun together. As Charles Leclerc came up, Ferrari did not reiterate confidence in Sebastian and ultimately it led to divorce," the Briton added.

However, Ecclestone thinks Vettel will be flat out when the 2020 season gets underway.

"He will be able to tackle each race without any pressure and with a lot of aggression," he said. "He will have the opportunity to show Leclerc that he is still far from done."

As for the future, Ecclestone recently advised Vettel to join a growing team like Renault. But now, he thinks the German should be looking at the top silver cockpit.

"I would love to see him join Mercedes," he said.

"Toto Wolff could convince him to sign a nice contract. Just imagine Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel together in the same team. It would be wonderful news for Formula 1 and great publicity," Ecclestone added.