OFFICIAL: Sebastian Vettel to retire at end of season

The third biggest Grand Prix winner (53 victories) will hang it up at the end of the season. Sebastian Vettel et Aston Martin announced this Thursday that the German would retire at the end of the season, after fifteen seasons and eighteen years of good and loyal service. “The decision to stop was difficult to make. I thought about it a lot but at the end of the year, I want to take more time to focus on what my next challenges will be, explained Sebastian Vettel. As a father, it is obvious that I want to spend more time with my family. Today it's not so much a question of saying goodbye, it's rather time to say thank you to everyone, mainly to the fans without whom the F1 would not exist.” 

NEWS: Sebastian Vettel will retire from #F1 at the end of the 2022 season, bringing one of the greatest careers in the history of the sport to a close.

Read more from Sebastian, Lawrence Stroll and Mike Krack. ⬇️

— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) July 28, 2022

One of the precocious talents, Sebastian Vettel made his Formula 1 debut in 2007, during the United States Grand Prix, replacing the injured Robert Kubica. With BMW Sauber, the German scored his first points thanks to a promising 8th place. He then continued with two years at Toro Rosso, for whom he took the team's first victory at Monza in 2008, in the rain, becoming at the time the youngest winner of a Formula 1 event, although he has since been beaten by Max Verstappen. Never mind, his good results led him to Team A in 2009, where he became four times world champion (2010-2013), thus becoming the youngest driver in history to be crowned.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Sebastian Vettel (@sebastianvettel)

Fifteen years in Formula 1 for Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian then realized a childhood dream by driving for five years for Ferrari, the team that made the legend of his absolute idol and mentor Michael Schumacher. With the Team, Vettel fought for the title in 2017 and 2018, without ever really managing to gain the upper hand in the long run over a Lewis Hamilton imperial. His years in red will remain full of ups and downs. He will finish with two seasons with Aston Martin (2021-2022), where he will achieve a podium in Baku in 2021 and come close to victory in Hungary the same year. So it's a year after hunting Esteban Ocon on the Magyar turnstile that Vettel ends up announcing his retirement, just before the holidays. 

BREAKING: Sebastian Vettel has announced he will retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season

4 world titles
53 race wins
122 podiums
1 phenomenal career#ThankYouSeb pic.twitter.com/K8BVXI6IAx

- Formula 1 (@ F1) July 28, 2022

“I would like to thank Sebastian from the bottom of my heart for the quality of his work at Aston Martin, boss Lawrence Stroll paid tribute to him. We told him we wanted to keep him for the following season, but he chose what he felt was best for him and his family and we respect that. He is one of the greatest drivers of all time in Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to work with him. He will continue with us until Abu Dhabi, which will mark his 300th Grand Prix in F1. We will try to give him the exit he deserves. »

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