Sebastian Vettel admits that he had already passed his peak as a driver years before his departure from Formula 1 – Why 2019 was a “turning point”
At the end of the 2022 season, Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula 1. In the Beyond The Grid podcast, the German has now openly admitted, with the benefit of hindsight, that he had already passed his peak some time ago.
“I was already on the way down [in 2019],” Vettel admits, “and I’m glad I can say that now, because I no longer had that final ultimate push.” Previously, Vettel had finished runner-up in the world championship twice with Ferrari in 2017 and 2018.
But the World Championship duels with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and the long seasons took their toll on Vettel, which, according to his own statement, was already noticeable in 2018. “I remember starting the 2018 season and traveling to the first race, but I really didn’t feel like it,” says Vettel.
“I really wanted to race, but I didn’t want to travel,” the German explains. Despite his doubts, Vettel finally flew to the season opener in Melbourne—and even won it. He then had “a very, very strong season,” he recalls.
However, Vettel missed out on the title again, and in 2019, according to his own statement, the situation worsened even further because his children no longer wanted him to travel so often. “It was hard to say goodbye to the dog—but with the children, it was even harder,” explains Vettel.
Why Vettel began to “struggle” in 2019
So in 2019, he felt again “that I didn’t want to travel,” he recalls of the start of the season. And unlike in 2018, it became clear early on a year later that it would not be enough to win the title again. “I really wanted to win the championship with Ferrari,” emphasizes Vettel, who joined the Scuderia in 2015.
“2019 was something of a turning point for me because I slowly got the feeling that we weren’t going to make it. That we weren’t good enough,” says Vettel. At the same time, he got a much younger and hungrier teammate in Charles Leclerc that year.
“Charles had so much energy. He was at a completely different point in his career,” explains Vettel. For him, only victories were good enough at the time, while for Leclerc it was a new situation to be driving for a top team at all.
“Charles joined us, and when we finished fifth and sixth, he was overjoyed with fifth and sixth place because he was in a different phase of his career,” said Vettel. He himself, on the other hand, had been “spoiled” by his previous successes, such as the four world championship titles with Red Bull.
“I think that’s when I started to struggle a bit,” he explains. Vettel ended the season surprisingly behind Leclerc in the World Championship. In addition, he only managed a single victory in Singapore, which was also to be his last in Formula 1.
That’s why the Aston Martin years were “important”
In 2020, he unexpectedly got a “fantastic break” because the season didn’t start until July due to the coronavirus pandemic at the time. This allowed the then 32-year-old to spend a lot of time with his family. He reveals that he really enjoyed this phase.
At the same time, however, he also admits in sporting terms: “I would say that at that point I was probably no longer at the peak of my career.” Ferrari ultimately did not renew his contract for the 2021 season.
Nevertheless, Vettel then signed with Aston Martin for another two years. “I think I was ultimately looking for certainty: ‘Can I still do this?’” he says today with some hindsight. Because at the time, he didn’t know that he had already passed his zenith. That’s another reason why the Aston years were ‘important’ to him, “because I felt really comfortable driving again. And I believe that I still performed at the highest level later on, but overall I was probably no longer at my peak,” he explains. During his time at Aston Martin, Vettel only managed to secure one more podium finish. At the end of 2022, he finally bid farewell to the premier class with an unspectacular twelfth place in the world championship.
