Would Vettel be a good Marko replacement? Wheatley has his say

Red Bull have dominated the ground effect era, and their former four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is in talks about a return to the team to replace Helmut Marko.

The German driver last raced at the highest level of motorsport in 2022 with Aston Martin after his career stuttered towards the end.

Jonathan Wheatley was integral to a lot of Red Bull's success in Formula 1 as Sporting Director and now spearheads Sauber.

The Briton feels relacing Marko would be a significant challenge, but Vettel is a highly impressive person.

Helmut Marko has helped develop Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel

Replacing Marko is "a challenge"

Wheatley said to GPBlog and others: "I think, first of all, trying to replace Helmut is quite a challenge in itself. I can't quite imagine how any one individual could do that.

"I haven't seen Sebastian for a while. He's a seriously impressive person, as you all know. I believe the conversations have been confirmed between the two parties, but whether that comes to anything, I don't know. But I'm hoping I see Helmut in that role for a much, much longer period of time."

Red Bull has lacked stability in recent times despite their success, as they are no longer the dominant force on the track.

Vettel returning to the Austrian outfit may help Red Bull return to the very front of the field consistently.

Max Verstappen is backing Vettel to return to Red Bull as he knows them inside out after winning four world titles for the Milton Keynes-based team.