One of the most impactful and representative careers in the history of the Formula One World Championship is nearing its end. Aston Martin announced on Wednesday morning (28) that Sebastian Vettel will retire from the category at the end of the 2022 season. After more than a decade and a half and at the age of 35, Vettel is in the rearview mirror.

It is true that the possibility of leaving Formula One is not exactly news. Months ago, when he took part in the BBC's 'Question Time' program to talk about issues outside his F1 career, Sebastian said that being an activist in the movement against climate change on the planet made him question his future in F1. Combined with the fact that Aston Martin took a step back in 2022 compared to 2021 and that the fight for wins was not even on the radar and the end of the contract was coming in December, the conditions were set.

Last week, however, Vettel stated that there was "clear intention to continue" in F1 and renew with Aston Martin. The team itself, through boss Mike Krack, had previously stated that it hoped to "count on Vettel for a long time." Now, before the official opening of the Hungarian GP, the confirmation that the team will have another driver from next year on.

Sebastian Vettel é tetracampeão mundial de F1 (Foto: Aston Martin) — Sebastian Vettel is a four-time F1 world champion (Photo: Aston Martin)

"I've had the privilege of working with many great people in Formula 1 over the past 15 years - it's too many people to mention and thank," Vettel said. "Over the past two years, I have been a driver for Aston Martin and although our results have not been as good as I had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything a team needs is being put in place at the highest level for the coming years," he followed.

"I really enjoyed working with such great people. Everyone - Lawrence, Lance, Martin, Mike, the executives, the engineers, mechanics and the rest of the team - are ambitious, capable, expert, committed and friendly, and I wish them all the best," he declared. "I hope that the work we did last year and continue to do this year will be useful in developing a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can from now until the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving, as always, my best in the last ten races," he assured.

"The decision to retire was a hard one to make, and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. At the end of the year, I want to spend more time thinking about what I will do next. It is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not the time to say goodbye. Instead, it is time to say thank you - to everyone - especially to the fans, without whom the passionate support for Formula 1 would not exist," he closed.

The Aston Martin staff also expressed themselves. "I want to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the great work he has done for Aston Martin over the last year and a half. We made it clear to him that we would like him to continue with us next year, but in the end he did what he thought was right for him and his family, and of course we respect that," said Lawrence Stroll, owner of Aston Martin. "He drove some fantastic races for us, and behind the scenes, his experience and the knowledge of our engineers were extremely valuable. He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to work with him," he followed.

"He will continue to race with us until the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP, which will be his 300th GP. We will give him an amazing farewell," he assured.

Sebastian Vettel foi campeão quatro vezes seguidas pela Red Bull, de 2010 até 2013 (Foto: Red Bull Content Pool) — Sebastian Vettel was champion four times in a row for Red Bull, from 2010 until 2013 (Photo: Red Bull Content Pool)

"Sebastian is a super driver - fast, smart and strategic - and of course we will miss these qualities. However, we have all learned from him and this knowledge we have gained thanks to working with him will continue to benefit the team long after he retires," pondered boss Mike Krack. "Aston Martin is a great project with unlimited potential and the groundwork that Sebastian did last year and is still doing this year is crucial," he acknowledged.

As much as he was not one of the top drivers on the grid in the 'Drive to Survive Era' that brought so many new fans to the World Championship, Vettel's career is one of the most impressive of all time in the more than 70 years of F1.

Since he entered the grid and made his debut in the 2007 US GP, already in the final part of the season, then aged 20, Vettel has competed 289 races and has 11 more to go. Thus, he will reach 300 GPs. In this period he won 53 races, was on 122 podiums, scored 57 poles, and won four world titles. Numbers of a historical heavyweight.

Sebastian is tied with Alain Prost as four-time world champion, behind only three other drivers with more achievements; he is the youngest driver in history to win and pole in the same weekend (122 races).He is the youngest driver in history to have pole position and victory in the same weekend (21 years and 73 days, Italian GP 2008) and the youngest in history to have pole position, victory and fastest lap (21 years and 353 days, British GP 2009). He is, along with Nigel Mansell in 1992, the driver with the most wins from pole in a single year (nine, 2011). Vettel is the third driver with the most wins and laps led, the fourth with the most poles, and the seventh with the most races in history.

Despite his start at BMW, Vettel only drove eight races there, still on loan from Red Bull. The following year, 2008, he started at Toro Rosso and shone. Even with many retirements at the end of the year, he knew how to work to put the team back on track and make a magical second half of the year, winning the Italian GP, with pole position and everything.

Red Bull was the obvious destination, and so it was for 2009. It was when everything changed for the team, which made an impressive leap in the grid and left the giants Ferrari and McLaren behind. The title didn't come because of the Brawn GP phenomenon, but Red Bull was well positioned. Vettel was vice world champion and emerged as favorite for 2010.

Then, yes, began one of the most dominant moments of any driver in the history of F1. In the year he would be only 24 years old, Vettel knew how to fight. With five wins in the year, including in three of the last four races, he narrowly beat Fernando Alonso to win the world title Vettel dominated in 2011 to become a two-time champion and had to deal with Alonso again for the third place in 2012. In 2013 there was no contest: Vettel was four-time champion and still closed the season with nine straight wins - ten in the last 11, 11 in 13 and 15 wins in all.

Sebastian Vettel passou seis temporadas na Ferrari e se tornou o terceiro maior vencedor de GPs da marca (Foto: Ferrari Media) — Sebastian Vettel spent six seasons at Ferrari and became the brand's third most successful GP winner (Photo: Ferrari Media)

With the arrival of the 'Hybrid Era' in 2014, the order of forces changed and the rise of Mercedes was meteoric, with the dominance of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Vettel seemed despondent during the year, and in October he set his sights on Ferrari the following year. For the next six years he defended the red color.

As early as 2015, when Ferrari was going through a rebuild after the departures of Luca di Montezemolo, Stefano Domenicali, and Alonso, Vettel won three times. Starting in 2017, things changed. Ferrari jumped up and put itself in a position to challenge Mercedes, with Vettel starting the 2017 and 2018 championships very strongly and leading for several times especially in the early metado of those years. Both championships have important throws that demarcate Sebastian's exit from contention: the accident with Max Verstappen at the start of the 2017 Singapore GP and the run off the track at the 2018 German GP. Hamilton got the better of him in both cases.

After the mistake in Germany, that just after a win in England, where Hamilton always reigned, Vettel did not recover. The end of that season was bad, while Charles Leclerc arrived the following year and quickly became the darling of the team, which again had changed boss and president, with the departure of Maurizio Arrivabene and the tarring and death of Sergio Marchionne. Even without the dreamed-of title, Vettel won 14 races for Ferrari, which puts him second only to Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda.

The exit was announced for the end of 2020, but still before the championship started. Aston Martin, which returned to F1 as a brand after almost 60 years, took advantage and signed with Vettel. In the first year, the four-time champion was second in the Azerbaijan GP and achieved the same result in Hungary, but on Monday he was disqualified for a technical infraction related to the amount of fuel delivered at inspection. A team problem. The expectation was to have a stronger team in 2022, but it didn't happen. Aston Martin regressed and thinks about how to get out of the last positions this year and in the next ones. Something difficult even with the bold plans, including a new factory and wind tunnel, more employees, and the tradition of the brand.

A career nothing less than glorious, in an undeniable way. Averse to social networks, in recent years, Vettel increased the way he dealt with social issues, always at the circuits, taking advantage of the F1 platform. During this period, he defended climate issues and the bees, a species that is under global threat of extinction - something that would change the ecosystem of the planet, since the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community and anti-war issues after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as anti-racism. Now you will have more time to address other issues.

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