Former Ferrari strategist says the team hated Vettel before he joined

Ruth Buscombe has worked with a range of teams during her career, including Ferrari, Haas and Sauber. However, she will always remember her time at Ferrari fondly, after working with four-time world champion Sebastien Vettel. Speaking on The Fast and The Curious podcast, the race strategist has revealed what it was like working with the German, and how special it was for the team.

Buscombe began her career with Ferrari in 2012, when Vettel was with Red Bull Racing. At the time, she claimed "him and the finger were the worst thing," given they were winning the championship. However, when asked what it was like working at Ferrari against Vettel, she said: "He was just too good. He was the ultimate rival." Nevertheless, Buscombe said when the news broke that he was leaving the Austrian team, she was "greatly excited about the fact he was joining Ferrari."

Vettel left Red Bull at the end of 2014, making his Ferrari debut at the Australian Grand Prix in 2015. During this time, Buscombe worked as a race strategist for the team, before leaving for Haas. After working with Vettel, she discovered what a special time it was: "I can't say enough good things about Seb, like as a human being, as a driver. I couldn't imagine 10 years later after knowing him and he's announced his retirement, like saying good things about him, because in 2012, you know, I was at Ferrari and we hated that man."

"So little did I know at that point he would become kind of one of the most important people in my life, and my friend. He also gives very good life advice and packs extra snacks for a plane, which is what you want in a human being. But yes, it was really special," she added.