Sebastian Vettel tipped his friend and protégé Mick Schumacher to be his successor at Aston Martin next season on Friday.
The retired four-time world champion, who is close friends with his 23-year-old fellow German, said he had spoken to team owner Lawrence Stroll and recommended the son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
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“Obviously I spoke to Lawrence and told him I’m not going to continue,” said Vettel, 35.
“We had a very, very brief chat about what might be next.
“I have my opinion. I think highly of Mick. I’m not completely objective because I’m very close to him, but I think he’s a great driver and learner.
“He keeps learning when others stop or stop progressing. He has qualities, but he’s still very young. He doesn’t have a lot of experience.
“It is not my decision, but if they ask me I will give my opinion and I will not hold back. In the end, the team will have to make that decision.”
Vettel was labeled “baby Schumi” when he started in F1.
He also said that Michael Schumacher inspired his career and that the pair had a strong relationship.
Vettel is also believed to have joined Ferrari in tribute to Michael.
“I’m happy to help where I can because he’s a great guy and obviously I have a very special connection with his dad,” Vettel said at the time. “So yes, for my part, I really like him, we get along well and I’m happy to tell him everything I know.
“I saw his dad win a lot more races than he could have seen me win, but I think I’ll be happy to help, but I think it’s very important that he finds his own path and follows his own path. But surely, as much as it helped when Michael had some things to say when I asked him and he gave me advice, I’m trying to do the same with him.
Mick, who is out of contract with Haas at the end of this year, scored his first F1 points at the British Grand Prix earlier this month and followed it up with another strong finish in Austria.
As a graduate of the Ferrari Academy, the Italian team will also have some influence on the next step in his career.
“Obviously there’s still a lot to do here (at Haas) so that’s where my focus is at the moment and what the future holds, we’ll see,” Schumacher said.
“Never say never, but obviously my focus is on Budapest right now.”
Schumacher has known Lawrence Stroll and his son Lance, who races for Aston Martin, since their karting days and said they have a strong relationship.
“I’ve known them for a long time,” he said of the Stroll family. “And we’ve always been good to each other.”
In Friday practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Schumacher was 17th behind Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen, while Vettel was seventh and Stroll 14th in the updated Aston Martin with a new rear wing.