Sebastian Vettel isn’t just a four time Formula One World Champion. He’s one of those rare, hard to find kind of human beings. His passion for anything and everything is incredible. His absence from the Formula One paddock will be evident and I, for one, am not ready for it.
Thursday 28th July 2022. It’s media day at the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend and a verified page for Sebastian Vettel has just appeared on Instagram. This breaks the social media side of the Formula One world sending many into disarray. Why on earth has someone who’s been extremely vocal about the toxicity of social media suddenly join instagram? Surely this means one thing?
Sebastian Vettel is to retire from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season.
There is no denying that Seb’s F1 career has been nothing but historic and extraordinary. From winning his first race in 2008 in a Toro Rosso to dominating the F1 world while racing for the Red Bull team from 2009-2014. And, not to mention the number of records the German has broken along the way. What he’s achieved has been incredible.
Let's have a quick breakdown of his career. Seb’s first F1 race was with BMW at the 2007 US Grand Prix where he replaced injured Robert Kubica. After becoming the youngest point scorer ever at the time, he moved to Toro Rosso for the remainder of 2007 and the whole of 2008 where he then became the youngest Grand Prix winner at that year’s rain sodden Italian Grand Prix. In 2009 he moved to the main Red Bull Team and won four consecutive championships in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 alongside the many records that he broke. For 2015, Vettel made the unexpected jump to Ferrari where things didn’t quite go to plan and after a difficult few seasons he finally moved to Aston Martin for 2021 which will be his final team before his retirement later on this year.
However, it’s not just what Sebastian has achieved on track that makes him the incredible person that he is. It’s also what he’s achieved and done off track. In recent years he has shown a passion for activism. Whether it’s to do with the environment or social justice issues, he’s been there fighting for what’s right. And, on top of racing and activism, he’s been raising a family. The man is a literal machine.
Over the years I have watched Sebastian race, it’s been an honour to witness not just his achievements in the world of motorsport but also the type of person he has become. He is the prime example of a brilliant role model for anyone and even I, at nearly 30 years old, have learnt a lot from him.
Formula One without Sebastian Vettel sounds like a bizarre world and whether we’ll ever get another Sebastian Vettel type is questionable. But for Vettel himself, I agree that, although I convinced myself he would resign with Aston Martin for at least one more year, now is the time to retire. It’s unlikely and pretty evident that there are no more F1 championships in the German’s future and with the Aston Martin car currently performing as it is, I do not blame Seb for being the bigger man and turning his back on the sport he loves for something he loves more. His family.
Whatever lays ahead in Sebastian’s future, I wish him all of the luck in the world. We, as F1 fans, have been extremely lucky to be apart of the Sebastian Vettel era. Whether we’ll see him again in the world of Formula One, I don’t know. I guess until then it’s “Danke Seb.”
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