With the four-time world champion quitting Formula One at the end of the 2022 season, Callum reflects on the driver on track, and the person off it
It’s not breaking news to know that Sebastian Vettel is retiring from Formula One. After sixteen years operating at the pinnacle of motorsport, the 2022 season will now be his last. He emphasised that it was not a decision that had been taken lightly, but highlighted that spending more time with his family was a fundamental reason behind him stopping. With all things considered, Vettel can leave satisfied on a professional and personal level with his achievements and contribution to the sport.
His accolades speak for themselves. As a four-time world champion, he has achieved more than most Formula One drivers will ever accomplish in their careers. Those titles were won when he raced for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013 during his most successful stint in the sport, and they ensure that he won’t be forgotten, and will remain immortalised in history. With 53 race wins, only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher have scored more. He equalled the record for the longest winning streak with nine victories, as well as the most wins during a season with thirteen.
Both of those milestones were done in 2013, a campaign of unrelenting domination. The 2011 season was also dominated by Vettel and Red Bull. But for the 2010 and 2012 seasons, Vettel was locked in title battles where he prevailed over closest rival Fernando Alonso when he raced for Ferrari. For the first, Vettel won when Ferrari made a mistake on strategy at the final race in Abu Dhabi, and meant Alonso could not overtake cars in the race to score the points to claim the championship. On the third, Red Bull out developed Ferrari, and Vettel won enough races and scored enough points to win the title.
"It was a period of ruthlessness and resilience, that culminated in what would be the peak of his career"
It must be said that, on both occasions, it was Alonso that took the fight to Vettel and Red Bull despite having the inferior car, with Ferrari not performing or operating at the high level required to decisively beat their opponents. It’s a familiar story when you think about it in the 2022 season. Yet that does not diminish what Vettel achieved. It was a period of ruthlessness and resilience, that culminated in what would be the peak of his career. It demonstrated his credentials as a talented driver with the work ethic and mindset to win at the pinnacle of motorsport repeatedly.
As a Lewis Hamilton fan, I just remember at the time pleading with McLaren to produce a fast enough car to compete! But that never happened of course, and Hamilton joined Mercedes for the 2013 season. This was to be the last year Vettel and Red Bull would dominate Formula One, as regulation changes in 2014 shuffled the pecking order. The new hybrid era saw Red Bull drop the ball, and Mercedes pick up the baton as the benchmark team. For Vettel, the season would be underwhelming and disappointing, as Daniel Ricciardo beat the quadruple champion in the standings.
There was more going on behind the scenes though. Ferrari were in discussions with him about coming to the team for 2015. Vettel idolised Michael Schumacher and was inspired by him. The opportunity to follow in his footsteps and emulate him at Ferrari was a chance too good to turn down. Although his time at the team did not live up to those halcyon days. That glorious past would not repeat itself for Vettel. During his six seasons between 2015 and 2020, he would score thirteen race wins, placing him third on the list of winners for Ferrari.
Mercedes was in the midst of Formula One domination, and on cursory glance, it would appear that Vettel and Ferrari had no chance to compete with Hamilton and Mercedes. But on closer inspection though, that was not the case. For the most part of the 2017 and 2018 seasons, Ferrari had the fastest car, yet the advantage was wasted. A series of issues wrecked what chances Vettel and Ferrari had of winning the championships, not dissimilar to those in the 2022 season. Self-inflicted operational and reliability shortcomings prevented any concerted campaign.
That was until Vettel himself started making driving errors to go with the operational troubles and reliability problems. These became more frequent, and ultimately the culmination of these three reasons meant Vettel and Ferrari could not challenge Hamilton and Mercedes in the two seasons. It has never really been explained why he consistently made these driving mistakes, and it has thus transpired that Vettel would never compete for a Formula One championship again. For the two subsequent years in 2019 and 2020, Ferrari didn’t produce a car that was good enough to win races and titles.
Vettel had been team-mates with Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. The pair shared a harmonious relationship, as the Finnish driver was clearly designated the number two driver. But that all changed in 2019 with the arrival of Charles Leclerc, who threw a spanner in the works. In his first season at Ferrari, he beat Vettel in the standings. That outcome very much disrupted the dynamics in the team, as they openly questioned the quadruple world champion’s credentials. It was then during the delayed start to the 2020 season caused by Coronavirus that Ferrari decided to drop Vettel after losing faith in his ability.
"A pivotal motive that Vettel has admitted was so that he could spend more time with his family"
Following that decision, Leclerc went on to beat Vettel in the standings again in the 2020 season. On the evidence, Ferrari were vindicated. The inconsistency appears to back up the general impression that while Vettel is undoubtedly a talented driver, the Red Bull cars he won his four world championships with between 2010 and 2013 perhaps flattered him somewhat. That’s not to take away anything from his achievements, just that his track record since that point has been on a downward trajectory.
That’s not a matter of opinion, that’s a matter of fact. Vettel has spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons at Aston Martin, and it would not be wrong to say that the results have been disappointing and unsatisfactory compared and contrasted to what he achieved at Red Bull. For the calibre of driver that he is, a solitary second place podium at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the only accolade to show for his commitment, which must be pretty underwhelming when you think about it.
The uncompetitive AMR22 car has surely played a part in Vettel’s decision to stop racing. Aston Martin set the target of competing at the front of the grid in Formula One within four to five years in 2021. But as performances on track are proving in 2022, that aspiration is a lot easier said than done. This ambitious long-term project to transform the team is serious though. Off track, a new factory is being constructed, along with a new wind tunnel, and both are expected to be operational from late 2023.
The rebranding of the team has attracted new blue-chip sponsors, like title partner Cognizant. Finance and resource clearly aren’t a factor holding Aston Martin back. Yet none of the infrastructure developments have been tempting enough for Vettel to continue racing. There are perhaps other reasons that have tipped the scales and prompted him to depart the pinnacle of motorsport. A pivotal motive that Vettel has admitted was so that he could spend more time with his family.
The schedule of Formula One is demanding, and it requires sacrifices. The biggest forfeit of all is time itself. It’s an aspect that’s overlooked, but combine the effort Vettel puts into racing with the uncompetitive AMR22 car, and his calculation must have been that it’s just not worth the time and effort to continue, when he could be devoting more of his life to his family that probably miss and need him when he is not with them. This must have been a conflicting dilemma when he considered what path to choose.
But there’s something that separates Vettel from most other current drivers in Formula One, and it’s something that he has in common with Lewis Hamilton. They’re both from underserved social economic backgrounds. You can tell that it hasn’t been a straightforward journey for either Hamilton or Vettel by the sort of people they are. Both are activists for causes that I agree with and believe in. During recent seasons, Vettel has come out of his shell and has talked about a range of societal issues that define our time. As a person, he has stated what he cares about and what he stands for.
"The pinnacle of motorsport will miss the driver, but they will also miss the person in equal measure"
To use the platform Formula One has given him to spotlight topical subjects really is the measure of the person he is. He has supported the LGBTQ+ community, spoken out about the climate crisis and has been an advocate for gender and race equality. Like Hamilton, Vettel stands for much more than just himself. His appearance on flagship political debate programme BBC Question Time in May 2022 was compelling, and it showed someone who is engaged with the current affairs in Britain and the world. I was surprised by the extent of his knowledge and understanding of different matters.
Yet for a sportsperson with such a prominent profile, there is an element of mystery about Vettel. His absence from social media has been somewhat puzzling. It’s only now that he’s leaving Formula One that he’s realised that he won’t have a platform to highlight the topics he wants to. Social media has its pros and cons, but essentially, it’s a communication tool. Vettel could have utilised it sooner for the causes he cares about, but for reasons that I’m somewhat not sure of, he hasn’t. If you don’t move with the times, you get left behind.
It's a shame he wasn’t on social media sooner. It’s a shame he hasn’t been driving faster cars in recent seasons. And it’s a shame that Vettel won't be racing in Formula One any longer. Him leaving is sad, but understandable why nonetheless. His place in the history books is assured as one of the best drivers of all time. The pinnacle of motorsport will miss the driver, but they will also miss the person in equal measure. In this regard, Formula One has more to lose than Vettel does, and only time will come to show how much of a void and vacuum he will leave behind.
I like Sebastian Vettel. I will miss him.
Photos: Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 Team, various other sources
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