Sebastian Vettel states there will come a point in time where he won’t be remembered, ahead of his final handful of Formula 1 races.
Vettel will depart F1 at the end of the 2022 season, bringing an end to his 15-year stint in the sport.
During that time, Vettel became one of the sport’s most successful drivers, winning four F1 titles, 53 grands prix, 57 pole positions and 122 podiums.
Vettel has opted to retire following a number of years competing away from the front of the field – however he hinted that his decision wouldn’t have been any different if he was currently in a more competitive position.
“I don’t know. Would I be retiring if I had been very competitive over the last three or four years: winning races, fighting for championships – maybe winning another one?” Vettel pondered.
“I might have come to the same decision. Equally, I might not have. It’s impossible to say, but it has crossed my mind.
“Finishing 10th doesn’t give me a buzz because I know how it feels to finish first. If you’ve never finished first, the first time you finish 10th you get a real buzz. But I’m happy that I don’t get a buzz from finishing 10th.”
Vettel, who will contest his final F1 race next month in Abu Dhabi, leaves behind one of the most established legacies in F1 history.
However, he believes that he won’t be remembered in history.
“I once heard someone say, ‘You will only be remembered until the last person who remembers you dies’,” he said.
“Let me put it this way: the UK has a new king, but he’s not the first King Charles – there were two more before him. Do you remember them? Probably not.
“There’s a limit. There will probably come a point when no one will remember me. Nothing lasts forever.”
I will. I have been following seb since that astonishing wet weather monza drive in 2008. I wanted to see you in one of your final F1 races in Asia but because of covid situation, not able to do so. But hey, I got myself a 2022 melbourne vettel jersey and a 2008 seb photo in action at the 1st ever Singapore GP.
everybody will remember the finger
who?
The only thing he is remembered for now is for being a worst driver ever to have more than one championship, and the for being the second most annoying driver in the paddock.
Worst driver to win more than one championship? No, there’s a short-arsed jewellery display has that position all sewn up.
Oh you have made my day. So glad there are other like-minded people. I can’t stop laughing. The evil clowns are around, and F1 is fast becoming the circus.
The motor racing history books (remember those?) will ensure his place in the archives. But the guy has certainly changed in the last couple of years and seems to have lost his F1 motivation – better off out of it for his own (and maybe others’) health’s sake.
The day comes when all F1 drivers are over the hill. Seb Vettel achieved what a lot of F1 drivers will never attain, four World Championships, all well deserved. He was in the right team at the right time and he had the right attitude and talent to do what he did. I’m sure he has no regrets when he looks at his trophy cabinet.
Vettel will be remembered, because he has a couple of things which most drivers, successful or not, severely lack, namely, a personality and, possessed even more rarely on the F1 grid, a sense of humour.
Oh don’t worry Vettel, you’ll be remembered. For all the stupid and uninformed comments you made about the Canadian Oilsands when you were in Canada for the Canadian Gran Prix. You really looked and sounded like a true idiot and that’s putting it lightly. To say what you did without even having a clue about all the positives that the Oilsands represents, not only for the economy of Canada but also for the total remake of an otherwise useless and desolate landscape, is absolutely mind blowing.