Retiring Seb talks to mid-day.com about life after Formula One
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel. Pic/Getty Images
Sebastian Vettel will call time on his Formula One career after Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Aston Martin racer leaves the sport firmly established as one of its all-time greats with four world titles and 53 wins. Among the sport’s most popular drivers, Vettel took time out ahead of his swansong for an email interview with mid-day.com in an engaging exchange, he reflects on his career, his legacy and his stand on some of the most burning social issues of the day.
I think it was in Suzuka that the realisation that this is your final season sort of seemed to kick in. Is it a similar feeling this weekend? This is the last time I'm going to get into the car for practice, the last time I take part in qualifying, the last time I line up on the grid. Are you feeling that this weekend, is it a particularly emotionally charged weekend for you or is it just business as usual?
You feel it a little bit, yeah, but it’s something I’ve managed to keep to one side. I’m not really thinking too much about it. Obviously, that feeling will come to me, but I want to enjoy the weekend with the team, with my friends and family, with people from the sport that I’ve come to know; I want to get the job done properly before I look at it with any perspective, really.
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I imagine at least on a subconscious level you must be reflecting on the career you've had. What have been your highlights, whether that's in terms of results or just memories in Formula One or even spanning all of your motor-racing career?
Again, I couldn’t pick out a highlight – there have been lots. It’s more about doing the right thing, working with people, trying to be helpful, efficient, friendly. I’ll remember the people I met more than anything else when I leave the sport, I think.
You've dedicated your entire life to this sport. Sport in general, because of the pressures elite athletes go through, the highs, the lows, is said to impart a great many life lessons. What are some of the learnings you've picked up over the course of your career that you can now carry into your life beyond motorsport?
I think there are greater learnings – it’s not just sport. I’ve learnt to treat people how you yourself would wish to be treated. To listen. To learn. You’re always learning. I guess Formula One has that ability to always learn and develop – it never stands still. Same is true of life, I guess, but it’s a powerful lesson.
Speaking of which, how do you envisage your post-Formula One life? Do you already have a plan for what you want to do next or is it a completely clean slate? I mean, for the first time in many years you have the freedom to do what you want, your schedule is not strictly governed by the Formula One calendar.
Not really. I’ll enjoy it – I’m sure I’ll know when it’s the first race of the new season and my mind might think about it, but I don’t know yet whether I’ll be sad or glad to be missing it! But my main priority is to spend time with my family and to think about what comes next.
Seb - over the years, you've cultivated a great many interests beyond motorsport. Over the last few years in particular you've emerged as an outspoken advocate of a great many social causes. And you're not just talking the talk but you've actually invested time in understanding these issues. For eg: the internship you completed in organic farming. What sparked this growth, if I may, for you personally? What prompted you to delve into these issues? Was there a point that made you think, hang on, I need to stand for something more, something bigger? Because Formula One drivers have tended, even as recently as a few years ago, to limit themselves to the F1 bubble.
There was no single turning point. As I say, it’s been a journey of learning and these are things that I began to grow more and more interested in. Once you start to understand these things and you learn a bit more, it’s difficult to turn your back on these issues. It’s been a gradual process for me and I’ve really enjoyed it.
Seb, your stand on broader social issues has only burnished your legacy. You are now universally loved by fans of the sport, even more so than, it can be argued, when you were on your run of consecutive title successes. But personally for you what sort of legacy would you want to leave behind?
I think writing my legacy is the job of other people – not for me!
Also Read: Fernando Alonso to replace Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin in 2023
Would you want to be remembered for the trophies you won and your driving prowess or the hearts that you won and the respect you earned as a human being? Also, would your answer have been different if this question had been put to you, say, ten years ago?
I don’t really separate them, and I don’t think you can necessarily have one without the other. They bleed together for me in so many different ways. Would I have had the satisfaction that I have now without the achievement that came before it? I don’t think so. I don’t wish to be remembered in a certain way: people are different to different people. That’s life.
When we talk about legacy, I think everyone agrees you're among the all-time greats. But what is most important to you - how you are remembered by other people or how you view yourself and the mark you left on the sport?
Again, I don’t really have a ready-made answer! That’s up to other people…
Would you ever consider coming back. I read some quotes from you - something along the lines of never say never. And if not as a driver could we see you in another role? A bunch of drivers were recently asked for a TV segment who on the current grid would make the best team principal. They all said you.
Well, I can definitely say I won’t be coming back as a team principal – but I’m grateful that people think I could or I should! I’m not turning my back completely on motorsport: I’m doing the Race of Champions next year, for instance. I’m not turning my back on anything, I’m just approaching new things with a fresh frame of mind. Who knows where it will lead me?
And, finally, any regrets?
I probably did too many media interviews!
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