Vettel not afraid of Verstappen: "Youngest world champion or not, doesn't matter"

Sebastian Vettel is still the youngest world champion ever in Formula 1. At Red Bull Racing, however, they are determined to take that record away from the German and put it in the name of Max Verstappen in 2020. Should that happen, Vettel won't lie awake.

Vettel was already the youngest pole-sitter and Grand Prix winner ever, but he lost to Charles Leclerc and Verstappen respectively. The now 32-year-old driver was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the world title, but Verstappen also lives up to the Ferrari driver's record.

Vettel did not focus on record

The 22-year-old Dutchman has to be quick, because next season is his last chance to set the record of youngest World Champion to his name. "I think the youngest doesn’t matter,” says Vettel in a video from Ferrari. The Heppenheimer wasn't working on it at all at the time. “I think winning a championship has always been the thing I wanted to achieve."

Furthermore, Vettel says he doesn't always enjoy driving a Formula 1 car. “I love the sensation in the car. I’ve tried lots of things but I haven’t found anything that gives me as much as putting on the helmet, getting into the car and trying to come out on top", he continues his story. “Driving a Formula 1 car feels like something you want to do again, and straight away. I’m not sure if I do smile but I feel like I’m smiling when I drive the car.”