Red Bull Pushes for Vettel Extension Until 2018

Some of you were wondering why Red Bull Racing took Sebastian Vettel's side after the incident between him and teammate Mark Webber in Turkey, when it was so clear that the German was the only driver to blame for what happened. In case it took you long to figure it out, the team's principal Christian Horner makes no secret from it, only a couple of days before the British Grand Prix.

According to the British manager, Vettel is obviously the future of the team and the Austrians from Red Bull will do everything in their power to keep the German at Milton Keynes for as long as they can. Even by 2028, recently joked Horner. “Then he'd be 41, like Michael Schumacher,” said the Red Bull manager.

“Sebastian is the future. He is going to be around, winning, for many years. I know that Mercedes would have Sebastian. Ferrari too, and even McLaren would not be averse. That's why we want to have him for the long term,” added Horner according to Germany's Sport Bild.

Some recent reports have suggested that, since all of the big teams in Formula One have already secured their lineups until the end of 2012 (at least on paper), Red Bull is pushing for a contract extension with Vettel until 2015. The deal would contain additional options through the 2018 season, “with a ten per cent retainer increase per additional year.”

Some simple mathematics would lead to the conclusion that Vettel could earn as much as EUR12 million per season. If one takes into account that the 23-year old is not managed by anyone, that's money in his pocket all the way.

However, when asked about it, Vettel insisted money is not a concern for him at the moment, as becoming world champion and having a competitive car to achieve that goal is top priority for the time being.

“I already have a contract with Red Bull. What happens next, we will see. For me, it's not about the money but about sitting in a competitive car with a team I feel comfortable with,” said the German driver.