Before making the radical switch to Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel contemplated simply quitting Formula 1 claims Christian Horner, who as Red Bull team boss witnessed first-hand the German driver's slide from four consecutive world titles to the struggles of 2014.
Last year, Vettel notably struggled to adapt to the sport's new V6-powered format, and failed to stand even once at the top of the podium while teammate Daniel Ricciardo won three grands prix.
"You could tell he [Vettel] wasn't happy," Horner told reporters on Tuesday as he presented to the media Red Bull's new lineup of Ricciardo alongside Russian youngster Daniil Kvyat.
"There was that feeling 'am I [Vettel] enjoying this as much as I thought I was?'" Horner explained.
"It was like someone had taken his toy away. He went through a period of disillusionment about the direction Formula 1 was going in."
"There was a stage last year when he thought about whether he wanted to stop or not, whether he was getting the same level of enjoyment or not and whether or not he wanted to continue," he added.
Horner said Vettel, 27, ultimately got to grips with the 'new' F1, but also true is that the German had been in the process of deciding to switch to Ferrari for 2015.
"I think Sebastian felt the timing was right in his career," he said. "He needed that stimulus of a new challenge."
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