Sebastian Vettel has four races left in Formula 1, after which he will end his professional career. In an interview with Aston Martin’s press service, the four-time world champion summed up his years of performance in the championship.
Q: Have you thought about how people will remember you?
Sebastian Vettel: People have to decide for themselves whether they want to remember me, but I won’t be mad if they forget me. I don’t care how they remember me. I’ve always tried to be successful – not always successful, but I’ve always tried to be respectful and kind to people.
Q: What have you learned in Formula 1 over the years?
Sebastian Vettel: Life brings many lessons, and it is up to you whether you learn from them or not. A Formula 1 driver leads a fast life. I think this is true for most professional athletes. We have everything other people have, but life is more compressed in terms of time. I had to grow up in front of my classmates, because I took my racing career seriously and communicated with many adults.
Q: Do you feel that you have missed something in everyday life?
Sebastian Vettel: I used to do all the stupid things that teenagers do with their friends, but when you’re 19 years old your world changes if you spend a lot of time with people in their thirties, forties or fifties.
Dealing with older people doesn’t make life boring, but I’ve grown up quickly. If you want to achieve something, you have to be committed and disciplined.
Q: Were you able to handle such pressure?
Sebastian Vettel: It often seems to me that in the past 15 years I have experienced many things that I still cannot comprehend – meeting a lot of people, visiting a lot of countries. I learned a lot from it, but time will tell how diligent I was as a student.
Q: Have you fallen in love with Formula 1?
Sebastian Vettel: I still like sports, I like racing. The decision to leave was not an easy one, but I thought about it for a long time. I know how much time and effort the sport takes and I feel it’s time for me to start doing something different.
Q: How would you rate two years at Aston Martin?
Sebastian Vettel: Two seasons proved difficult, as the car was not as competitive as we had hoped. This year we wanted to improve significantly, but at the moment we are in the same position as in 2021. I am not one to point the finger and say we did poorly. I’d rather be realistic – we had high expectations, but they didn’t materialize.
Q: Do you regret how it turned out?
Sebastian Vettel: Not at all. I do not consider the past two years to be useless, although the results were not what we had hoped. I like working with a team – getting to know people and different working methods.
These two years were very difficult because I am not used to fighting at the end of the pack. For me it was a new and difficult experience – I learned a lot.
Q: What exactly did you understand?
Sebastian Vettel: Usually you only see what is happening around you. When you fight for the pack, you only see what’s in front of you. When you’re behind, you see what’s happening behind, but always strive to be in front. But when you lead the way, you don’t pay attention to how hard the teams behind you are working. If they don’t get serious results, it doesn’t mean they don’t work well.
I am very happy and proud to be working with the talented and dedicated people at Aston Martin. Although it wasn’t the best experience in terms of results, I was excited to work with these people and help build the future.
Q: Last year’s podium in Baku must have been the most pleasing result?
Sebastian Vettel: Surely. We were competitive, and when you’re competitive, such results are possible. We proved that we can do well in the race. We’ve had other successful weekends where we finished 10th, but nobody cares when you finish 10th.
Q: If the car were more competitive, would you decide to retire at the end of this season?
Sebastian Vettel: I don’t know. If I had won races, fought for titles and maybe won another one in the last three or four years, would I quit? I might decide to leave, or maybe not. It is impossible to answer this question, but in the current circumstances I have made the decision that I have made.
You have to be honest with yourself. I like to win. It sounds selfish, but I am driven by the desire to win.
Q: You have 53 wins and four league titles in a row. Doesn’t it get boring to win?
Sebastian Vettel: You get used to it, but when you stop winning, you want to feel the victory again. When you win again, that win means more, because you had a pause between successes.
Q: Recently, the team you have won with in the past has had employees. For example, Dan Fallows and Eric Blondin. Do you think the team will be able to realize their ambitions?
Sebastian Vettel: Past wins don’t guarantee new wins, but their experience certainly helps. We have the necessary staff, construction of the new base is underway, so everything will be fine, but it will take time.
This year there was a huge opportunity thanks to the regulatory changes, but we fell into the same trap as many others. Some teams got lucky and developed a car with no wobble problems.
The regulations will remain unchanged until 2026, so teams that have started the season well will stay ahead of those who have performed poorly this year, and budget constraints will prevent more money being spent on solving problems.
Q: Over the course of your career you have fought with many great racers, but who was the hardest opponent of them all?
Sebastian Vettel: Lewis Hamilton, especially in those years when I played for Ferrari. Lewis has always been great. Before that, Fernando Alonso was a tough opponent when he played for Ferrari.
Q: Fernando will replace you at Aston Martin next season. Can you give him advice?
Sebastian VettelA: Fernando does not need advice. I’m not sure he’ll listen to them, but he doesn’t need them anyway. He has been in Formula 1 for many years, so it will be fine.
Q: Sebastian, you have four more Grand Prix to go after which a brilliant career ends. Thank you!
Sebastian Vettel: It’s funny that a lot of people thank me, but I want to thank them even more. If I did what I did, and nobody looked at it, didn’t give outside emotions, it wouldn’t mean anything. I want to thank the many people who have influenced my racing career and made my life what it is.
Source: F1 News
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
