SEBASTIAN VETTEL LEAVING RED BULL, JOINS FERRARI FROM 2015 SEASON

Sebastian Vettel has advised Red Bull Team that he will be leaving at the end of the 2014 season. Austrian F1 Team warmly thank Sebastian for the incredible role he has played for the last six years. Since joining the team in 2009, Sebastian, together with Infiniti Red Bull Racing, has scored 38 wins, 44 poles and eight World Championships, including four Drivers’ titles and four Constructors’. If you include Sebastian’s success at Red Bull’s second team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Red Bull total increases to 39 wins and 45 poles.

Red Bull wish Sebastian well in the next stage of his career, and also look to the future with excitement, as the vacancy makes way for the next generation of Red Bull racers. The Red Bull Junior Programme has developed some proven talents in recent times, including Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo, who has excelled in the RB10 and become a three-time Formula One race winner in his first season with the team. Red Bull announced that Daniel will be joined in the team for 2015 by another rising star from the Junior Programme, Daniil Kvyat.

Sebastian Vettel: "It is a tough step after such a long time together with Red Bull. After so many fantastic years, I did and still am enjoying my time, but at some stage in life you want to do something else, something new. It is not the first time I have been approached but it felt like the right time. I'm not leaving because I don't like the team or individuals, I'm not running away from anything. The voice inside me, the hunger to do something new was bigger. It was not the easiest decision but you have to listen to your heart."

The Red Bull Formula 1 team never considered Fernando Alonso as a replacement for Sebastian Vettel, team boss Christian Horner has revealed: "Fernando is a wonderful driver, but our philosophy and policy is to invest inwardly, invest in youth and give youngsters a chance. It has been our philosophy for several years now to back youth, to grow our own talent and that is exactly what we did with Sebastian. There were question marks when we signed him, and question marks when we signed Daniel Ricciardo, but we have demonstrated that it works."

"Does it leave us in the lurch? No. We have a fantastic driver in Daniel Ricciardo. When we took Seb he was a young driver - and we have demonstrated investing in young drivers works. I think it is the beginning of a new cycle, and things happen in cycles. Adrian is still very much about and very much involved in next year's car and the future of the team. Inevitably this was always going to happen at some point. It has happened today and it is time to look forward."