For Red Bull, Ferrari, and Toro Rosso, Sebastian Vettel has built on his 53 victories in Formula 1. The teams also talked about the significance of the four-time champion for the category
It was a decision that was announced, even though the driver himself denied it, but the truth is that Sebastian Vettel took everyone by surprise when he announced this Thursday (28) his retirement at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season. A winning career that began at BMW, in 2007, but reached its peak at Red Bull, where Vettel won all four titles.
It was with the taurine team that Vettel stood on the highest step of the podium 38 times in F1. At Red Bull, Vettel won 44 of his 75 pole-positions and was responsible for putting the Milton Keynes-based team among the great champions of world elite motorsport.
On social media, Red Bull praised Vettel's career: "Thanks Seb. Applause for the great times and the four world titles," the team wrote, adding, "Seb, you are the man!"
The 35-year-old German also had a remarkable stint at Ferrari, even though he did not win any titles in his six seasons at Maranello. In all, 'Seb' won 14 GP under the flag of the rampant horse and 12 pole-positions.
"It has been an honor to share so many memories with you in Formula 1. We look forward to enjoying the last few races together in the paddock," Ferrari said, completing the message with a phrase in Italian: "Ti vogliamo bene (we love you). Good luck in your future projects," it added.
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▶️ Sebastian Vettel: A career in numbers
It was at Toro Rosso, however, that the world came under the spell of the German boy. Now AlphaTauri, Red Bull's B team was the second team Vettel played for in F1 and where he took his first victory in his second year racing in the category: the 2008 Italian GP.
"Thank you for all the memories and for giving us our first victory, Seb," the Faenza-based squad celebrated succinctly.
Vettel announced on Thursday (28), at the age of 35, that he will end his World Championship career at the end of the 2022 season. Last week, the four-time champion had expressed his interest in renewing his contract with Aston Martin, but said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Vettel's career
Even though he was not one of the leading drivers on the grid in the 'Drive to Survive Era', which brought so many new fans to the World Championship, Vettel's career is one of the most impressive of all time in over 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. That's when everything changed for you and for the energy 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 Vettel world title. He dominated in 2011 to be bi and had to deal with Alonso again for the tri 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.
With the arrival of the 'Hybrid Era' in 2014, the order of forces changed and Mercedes' rise was meteoric, with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominating. 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 half of those years. Both championships have major 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.
SIDE BY SIDEVettel
, Germany 2018 vs. Leclerc, France 2022
After the mistake in Germany, which came just after a victory 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 departure 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 has 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 he will have more time to address other issues.