Off he goes!

Another seasoned campaigner calls it curtains over an illustrious career

There does come a time when professionals feel their reflexes weakening and their spirit to fight dying out. Well, four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has had one of those feelings lately and has decided to retire at the end of the 2022 season.

Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, he announced on his just-launched Instagram account that he will be leaving the championship after the season.

A tough call

“The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it,” Vettel, 35, said in an Aston Martin team statement.

“At the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not about saying goodbye.

“Rather, it is about saying thank you – to everyone – not least to the fans, without whose passionate support Formula One could not exist.”

From 2010 to 2013, Vettel won four championships in a row with Red Bull. However, after switching to Ferrari and then Aston Martin last year, he struggled to match those performances.

Third on the all-time list with 53 Grand Prix victories, behind Michael Schumacher (103) and Lewis Hamilton (91). 2019 saw Vettel’s most recent victory in Singapore.

‘One of the all-time greats’

“I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great work that he has done for Aston Martin over the past year and a half,” said Aston Martin executive chairman and team owner Lawrence Stroll.

They said that although they made it clear that they wanted him to stay on with them for the coming year, he ultimately took the decision that he believed was the best for his family and himself, and so the management had to accept that.

“He has competed in several spectacular races for us, and his experience and knowledge of our engineers have been quite helpful behind the scenes.

“He is one of the all-time greats of Formula One, and it has been a privilege to have been able to work with him. He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off,” added Aston Martin’s stakeholders.

“He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off.”

The German made his Formula One debut with Sauber at the 2007 US Grand Prix. He raced in the final seven races of the season after joining Toro Rosso in the same year.

After that, he raced for Toro Rosso for an entire season before moving up to Red Bull in 2009.

Youngest world champion

Vettel won his first championship in 2010, making him the youngest world champion in history at the age of 23 years and 134 days.

However, Vettel accepted that his stint with the Italian powerhouses eventually ended in failure since he was unable to achieve his goal of following in the footsteps of his idol Schumacher by winning a championship with Ferrari.

After spending six years with Ferrari, where he twice came in second place to Hamilton for the world championship in 2017 and 2018, he switched to Aston Martin last season with whom he will see out his F1 career.

After securing just one podium finish with his new team, Vettel lagged in 12th place in the 2021 drivers’ championship. He missed the first two races with Covid-19 and is currently 14th in the standings this season with only 15 points.

“Although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come,” said Vettel.

“I hope that the work I did last year and am continuing to do this year will be helpful in the development of a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can between now and the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving as always my best in the last 10 races.”

Indecisive Vettel

A devoted father of three, Vettel is a vocal advocate for social and environmental causes and intends to step away from the sport following his retirement.

“I may stay in racing but maybe not straight away,” he told AFP at the Miami Grand Prix in May. “It’s what I love so you never know.

“But I’m not going to be a TV expert. No, no.”

Additionally, Vettel recently made history by being the first F1 driver to ever grace the cover of the gay magazine Attitude in the United Kingdom.

“I think a gay Formula One driver would be welcomed – and rightly so,” said Vettel, who notched up another first appearing as a panelist on BBC’s long-running political show Question Time.

Wishes pour in

As one of the greatest ever to grace the F1 circuit, Vettel received praises and felicitations from every corner, especially the sporting fraternity. The star-studded send-offs included that of Lewis Hamilton who tweeted on this occasion saying: “Seb, it’s been an honour to call you a competitor and an even greater honour to call you my friend. Leaving this sport better than you found it is always the goal. I have no doubt that whatever comes next for you will be exciting, meaningful, and rewarding. Love you, man.”

Another German counterpart Mick Schumacher heaped praise on his fellow racer Vettel as the latter retired. Schumacher thanked the Aston Martin driver for being an inspiration. Paying tribute to their friendship, the Haas driver remarked: “I’m so sad that you’re leaving, but at the same time excited for you and this new chapter of your life. You’ve been and still are such an important person to me and I’m thankful for our friendship.”

As Vettel is believed to be one of the best on the tracks, the F1 community felt that there was a huge void that he was leaving behind. The official Formula One Twitter handle tweeted the following picture with the caption ‘Agreed.’

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Agreed 🥺 https://t.co/ZkB975mYbk

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 28, 2022

 Records galore

• F1 world champion: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
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• Grand Prix starts: 289
• Teams: BMW-Sauber (August 2006-July 2007), Toro Rosso (August 2007-2008), Red Bull (2009-2014), Ferrari (2015-2020), Aston Martin (since 2021)
• First race: United States Grand Prix 2007
• First win: Italian Grand Prix 2008
• Last win: Singapore Grand Prix 2019
• Wins: 53
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• Podiums: 122
• Pole positions: 57
• Fastest laps: 38
• Points: 3076
• World championship record: 1st (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), 2nd (2009, 2017, 2018), 3rd (2015), 4th (2016), 5th (2014, 2019), 8th (2008), 12th (2021), 13th (2020), 14th (2007)