He made his Formula 1 debut in 2007 at the US Grand Prix, where he replaced the injured Robert Kubica at the BMW Sauber team. And in the first race, he finished eighth. He then drove for Toro Rosso from Hungary. When he moved to Red Bull in 2009, with whom he won four world championships between 2010 and 2013, Top Gear wrote about him as the future Michael Schumacher. Between 2015 and 2019, he raced for Ferrari, with whom he won numerous races, but was unable to win the title again – he finished second overall twice, then third, fourth and fifth once. However, the last two seasons at Aston Martin, he struggled. He was very popular with riders and had a reputation for being a good boy. But… Can the four-time world champion be good and popular?

Listen to ten of Sebastian Vettel’s best messages on team radio:

Maybe because of her childish smile and gentle voice. Maybe he never had the sharp elbows you’d expect from an F1 champion. No scandals, no mistresses. And after the race, he cleaned up the trash in the stands. But what is Sebastian Vettel really like?

It is only now, when he has suddenly announced his retirement from Formula 1, despite Aston’s efforts to keep him going for 2023, that it becomes clear how little we know about the German born on 3 July 1987.

So first some facts. Like Schumacher, he started on the motorcycle track and it quickly became clear the kid had talent. Gerhard Noack, track owner and also the man who mentored Schumacher during his own karting career, took him under his wing and when Seb was twelve years old, he was endorsed by Red Bull. In karting, the young man remained until 2003, when he moved up to the Formula BMW junior series, only to win the championship a year later, winning, wait for it, eighteen out of twenty races. He then moved to Formula 3 Euro Series and World Series by Renault to then be a F1 test driver for two years.

When he joined F1 in 2007 he had a reputation as a racing expert, but sadly the reality was different. Out of twenty-one races, his best finish was fourth, but again, neither Sauber nor Toro Rosso had the best car at the time. And Vettel lacks the experience to turn the mediocre into the best. His first win came at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, when Vettel became the youngest F1 race winner aged 21 years and 2 months. On a sodden track and in a lesser race car, he put in a stellar performance that opened the door for Red Bull.

In 2009 he placed second overall and in 2010… From the start he replaced worse results with better ones. He collided with his teammate. He is said to be a crybaby. He responded by driving three great races. Then, when he led the entire race at the new circuit in Korea, but his engine died ten laps from the end, he told the media he didn’t really care. Niki Lauda he said of him at the time that he had no hunger to win and that he was a wasted talent. OK, maybe.

He won again in Brazil and in the last race of the season he overturned all predictions and became world champion. He won the race, Alonso dropped to seventh due to a tactical error and Webber finished behind Alonso. He became the youngest champion in history. Throughout the season, he won ten pole positions, won five races, second time twice and third time three times.

A year later he became the youngest two-time world champion and a year later, correctly, the youngest three-time world champion. And in 2013… Another title! That year he also became the first driver in F1 history to win eight consecutive races in a season, a streak he extended to nine in a row by the end of the year.

Vettel started his career at Ferrari with two solid seasons, finishing third in 2015 and fourth in 2016. In 2017, he won three of the first six races and it looked like Seb and the Maranello team were back, but then he only managed to win. twice and finished second behind Lewis Hamilton. Something similar happened in 2018, when he won the vice-champion title again, but as Senna already said, the second was the first to lose. He struggled in the following two seasons, winning just one event in 2019 and not even one in 2020. He finished with Ferrari and last year signed with Aston Martin, where he left with the idea that he would primarily be a mentor and he would meet one another.

In 2023, the F1 paddock will be without Vettel. His decision to retire from the fastest motorcycle world is purely personal and Aston Martin has repeatedly stated that it is very difficult to keep the 35-year-old German in the team. The Heppenheim native would leave the world of Formula 1 as one of the most successful drivers in history – Vettel won 53 Grands Prix in the World Championship, which placed him third behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. He is also third in historical charts in number of podiums (122) and fourth in number of qualifying wins (57) and titles.

“I love this sport. It has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. But as well as living on the track, I also have a world outside of it. Racing has never been my only identity, I am also a family man,” Seb said in a statement on his Instagram account, which he founded a few days ago. “It was a difficult decision for me, I thought about it a lot. At the end of the year, I want to take some time to reflect and think about what I’m going to do next. But it’s clear to me that as a father I want to spend more time with my family. “

It’s hard to say whether Vettel will quit motorsport entirely and retire from racing, the future will tell. And it’s hard to say who will replace him at Aston Martin. But it is clear that Vettel has changed significantly during those years in Formula 1. A talented boy has turned into a wise man who speaks volumes about climate change and changing environment in recent years. “I see that we are facing the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. And if we don’t win this race, the world will keep turning, but without us,” he said, for example.

And when in one interview a questioner objected that as a Formula 1 pilot he was part of a circus that had a negative impact on the environment, he clearly opposed this: “Of course I travel the world, race cars and burn resources. And literally. It’s not main factor, it’s a combination of a lot of things, but it also allows me to say the things that I say and help in a way that I help. I don’t mind people calling me a hypocrite because I know I am. But I try to be a more person well and I try to help as much as I can.”

As a boy, he admired not only Michael Jackson, but also Michael Jordan. But as he himself said, he quickly realized that not only was he voiceless, but he wasn’t the tallest in the class either. His father, a carpenter, had to dig into the family’s savings at that time so Seb could follow in the footsteps of his third idol named Michael. And the photo of the little blonde with the seven-time champion is legendary.

If you look at Vettel’s history in F1 you will find some controversial moments, but for someone with four world titles, those are very few. He never looked like Hamilton, never as expressive as Schumacher, never that simple Kimi Raikkonen and you probably can’t put together too many of the moments where she really stands out. But still, just hours after he announced his retirement from F1, many drivers rushed over with words that only testify to the respect Vettel had and still has.

“It’s sad to see Vettel go, at least for me it’s sad,” said Charles Leclerc, a former team-mate at Ferrari. “Maybe he’d be a lot happier where he’s going now, but it would be weird not being here. And I learn a lot from him and he is always good to me. The last time he surprised me again was when he sent me a message after the crash in France that it would be OK again, so I shouldn’t worry about that.”

And Fernando Alonso named him as one of his three biggest rivals: “Of course Michael Schumacher has a special place, but Vettel and Hamilton are two drivers I meet a lot. Also, Vettel is not only an extraordinary racer, but also a great person. with very strong inner values ​​and a beautiful family.”

And just as these two drivers looked up to Vettel, so did the others. Despite the fact that he has only shone a few times in recent years, for example last year at the Grand Prix in Baku or later with his race in Hungary, Vettel has become a very strong personality in Formula 1. He is not afraid to express it. his opinion, both to other drivers and to F1 management and the fans. Until now he struggled to earn points in Formula 1. Now he seems to want to fight for his family and make the world a better place to live.

Thanks for a great trip!