Newly-crowned world champion Sebastian Vettel has hinted that a future stint with either Ferrari or Mercedes could be on the agenda.

The German first came to attention in 2004 when he totally dominated the Formula BMW Germany series. Two seasons in the F3 Euroseries were followed by a season and a bit in the World Series by Renault, before being called up by BMW as reserve driver at the Turkish Grand Prix. Prior to this his only F1 experience had been a test with the Williams-BMW team at the end of 2005.

Despite his obvious close ties with BMW, Vettel had been a member of the Red Bull Junior Team and despite having given the youngster his break - making his race debut at Indianapolis in 2007 and subsequently becoming the youngest ever driver to score a world championship point when he finished eighth - the German manufacturer was in no position to resist (legally) when Red Bull requested that he be released in order to replace Scott Speed at Toro Rosso just two months later.

Now, firmly entrenched at Red Bull, Vettel has admitted that having talked with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, he believes that every F1 driver owes himself a stint with Ferrari or Mercedes.

"Obviously he told me what kind of special moments he experienced driving for Ferrari or Mercedes," said the German youngster in Bild. "Both brands are the past, present and certainly the future of Formula One.

"Every driver dreams of Ferrari and Mercedes," he continued. "However, if one ever ends up driving for them depends on a number of things. Everything must fit together. The myth alone is not enough.

"But this is still a long way away," he added. "My next aim is to defend the title with Red Bull."

Vettel's defence of his five-day old title is already underway, the German currently testing the new Pirelli tyres at Yas Island, the scene of his title winning race last week