Formula 1 champion reveals his 'past his prime' moment

The German driver won four consecutive world titles with Red Bull Racing from 2010 to 2013, which was later repeated by Max Verstappen.

Looking back at his career, the former Formula 1 champion reflected on his form. He explained on the Beyond the Grid podcast: "I came to Formula 1 in 2006, ‘07 and I would say already by 2010, obviously I won the championship, I was sort of at my peak."

In 2010, Vettel won the title against Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A year later, he took the title in a dominant fashion.

He continued: "Then in 2011, I was much more ready to win the championship than I was in 2010 for example, and then probably strong years obviously winning the championship."

Entering the 2015 campaign, Vettel joined Ferrari, but a fifth title never materialized with the Italian outfit. After spending two seasons with Aston Martin in 2021 and 2022, he decided to retire from the series.

The former champion added: "2015 was a very strong year, '17, '18, and then '19 and in fairness '20, I was on my way down already. And I'm happy to say that now because I didn't have that, really, last ultimate push anymore."

Vettel was second-guessing himself and his performances, but learned to accept his situation. "I think those years from a result point of view, of course I would have loved to see the team growing faster, but they were important for me because I started to feel really comfortable again with my driving and I think I did have peak performances even at a later stage. But overall peak, probably not anymore."

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