Norbert Vettel: 'Sebastian thought driving in the rain was fascinating'

Since the announcement of Sebastian Vettel's departure from Formula 1, the media has been flooded with praise for the four-time world champion. Many a team boss, driver, journalist and fan had their say, and now Norbert Vettel - his father.

There are some drivers who are known as masters of the rain, including Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. But there is another F1 champion who absolutely cannot be left from the list: Sebastian Vettel. His father Norbert tells Formula1.com about his son's talent at a young age. “Sebastian loved to drive in the wet. I asked him to come inside for lunch and to let his sister drive the kart while he was eating, but he said, ‘No, I’ll stay here.’ He wouldn’t get out. He just wanted to keep trying, keep learning. He was fascinated,” said the German driver's father.

Monza and Hockenheim

Thanks to his enormous talent, Sebastian became part of Red Bull's junior team, and got to racing at Toro Rosso in 2008. To everyone's surprise and amazement, Sebastian won the Italian Grand Prix that year, and yes, in the rain. “Seb was every time good in the rain. He had such a good feel for the car, for the tyres in those conditions.”

A more recent example characterising Sebastian's talent is probably the 2019 Hockenheim Grand Prix. Here, the German started in last, but managed to drive himself to second place despite all the crazy incidents around him. Max Verstappen won this race, but most people were surprised - in a positive sense - by the Heppenheim-born driver's performance.