This weekend marks the farewell of one of the greatest drivers in Formula One history: Sebastian Vettel. At 35 years of age, the German has decided to leave the track to dedicate himself to other areas. As a way to honour him, we at GPblog decided to tell you a bit more about his history, trajectory and achievements.
Born in Heppenheim, Germany, on July 3rd 1987, Sebastian started racing when he was 7 years old, in karts. In 2004, in German Formula BMW, he won 18 out of 20 races and got the championship title. The next step in his career was the European Formula 3, where he caught the interest of the BMW team, for whom he started to do some tests since then.
His Formula 1 debut was with the BMW Sauber team in 2006, but only in the role of the third driver, when he took part in a free practice during the Turkish Grand Prix weekend. At the time, aged 19 years and 53 days, he became the youngest driver ever to participate in an event in the category.
His racing debut came the following year at the 2007 US Grand Prix when he replaced Robert Kubica who had suffered an accident. On that occasion, Vettel finished the race in 8th position, earning his first career point.
Also in 2007, Vettel was confirmed as Scuderia Toro Rosso driver, replacing the American Scott Speed, who had fallen out with the team. He made his debut for Toro Rosso at the Hungarian Grand Prix that same year.
First win and move to Red Bull
On 14 September 2008, racing for Toro Rosso, Vettel surprisingly took his (and the team's) first Formula One victory at the Italian Grand Prix. At the time, aged 21 years, 3 months and 8 days, he became the youngest driver to win a race in the category - a record that was eventually broken by Max Verstappen, who won the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016 aged just 18 years and 228 days.
In 2009, Vettel moved to Red Bull, replacing David Coulthard. On 19 April that year, he claimed his second Formula One victory and the first for the Red Bull team, at the Chinese Grand Prix. The German finished the championship that year in 2nd position, just behind Jenson Button, and became the youngest driver to achieve a runner-up finish.
Golden years
Vettel's best years in Formula One undoubtedly came when he won his four consecutive world titles between the years 2010 and 2013 aboard his Red Bull.
Vettel's first Formula 1 title in 2010 came quite dramatically, in a championship that was quite close until the last Grand Prix. The German won 5 races that year and scored a total of 256 points, 4 more than Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who was at Ferrari at the time. With this title, Vettel became the youngest driver in history to win a world championship, with 23 years, 4 months and 11 days. A curious thing is that Vettel had not led the championship at any point that year, managing to do so exactly at the moment that mattered most - in the last race.
The 2011 title was much quieter, with the German having completely dominated the championship that year. He won 11 of 19 races and scored 392 points in total, 122 more than runner-up Jenson Button.
The 2012 championship was much tighter than the previous year's. On that occasion, Vettel took 5 victories and scored 281 points in total, just 3 ahead of Fernando Alonso. With this title, the German broke another record and became the youngest three-time champion in history, at the age of 25.
In 2013 he won his last world title. It was probably the easiest title of his career, becoming champion with 4 Grand Prixs in advance. That season he won 13 out of 19 races and equalled Michael Schumacher's record with the most wins achieved in a single season - a record that was broken this year by Max Verstappen, who so far (before the Abu Dhabi GP) has claimed 14 wins. Vettel has now scored 397 points, 155 more than runner-up Fernando Alonso. The German became the youngest four-time champion in Formula One history at the age of 26.
The years at Ferrari
On 20 November 2014, Ferrari announced that Vettel was coming to the team to replace Fernando Alonso, with a contract that would last for three years.
The German's time at the Italian team did not go the way everyone expected. Vettel even competed with Lewis Hamilton for the 2017 and 2018 championships, being runner-up in both seasons, but Mercedes' superiority gave no chance for any other team to dream higher.
His last Formula One victory, however, was with Ferrari - at the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix. With 53 career victories, Vettel became the third driver with the most wins in the category's history, trailing only Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (103).
Aston Martin and retirement
Vettel was announced at Aston Martin on 10 September 2020, with the main purpose of helping the team develop its future project in Formula 1. On 6 June 2021, he came second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, claiming the first podium in Aston Martin's history.
On 28 July 2022, even though he is averse to social media, Vettel created his Instagram account only to announce that he would retire from Formula 1 after the end of this season.
Later we will have an article with the 5 most important victories in Sebastian Vettel's career history.