JANUARY 14, 2017

Vasseur not ruling out F1 return

Frederic Vasseur says he might not be done with his F1 career.

The Frenchman says he quit as Renault team boss after a single year because the management team together with Cyril Abiteboul was not effective.

And now in conversation with the French broadcaster Canal Plus, he credited inspiration from Nico Rosberg in helping to make the call.

"During the break, I thought that you should not compromise and you should do what is true to your heart," said Vasseur.

"I thought of Nico, who was not driven by fame or money but by what he wanted to do, and I found that very attractive," he added.

Vasseur said his biggest achievement in 2016 was convincing Nico Hulkenberg to leave Force India in order to drive for the French works team this year and beyond.

"This was the hardest part of my decision," he said, "because I am close to Nico and I put everything into convincing him to join us.

"I think he's one of the most talented drivers of the junior series of the last ten years," Vasseur added. "There were three who won GP2 as rookies: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hulkenberg, and I hope that the third will also be world champion."

As for his own future, Vasseur said: "Formula one may be an option, it just depends in what form. We'll see."

(GMM)