“An incredibly significant spokesman for F1’s future”
The news of Sebastian Vettel’s plan to retire from Formula 1 at the end of this season was met with widespread sadness across the sport’s fanbase and paddock community.
Here is a driver who won four world championships from 2010-13 with Red Bull, enjoying the kind of dominance few have tasted in F1 history. And he is also a man who, as he has become older, has grown into his voice to become an incredibly significant spokesman for F1’s future, and the need for change.
On track, the Red Bull days were unquestionably the peak of Vettel’s career. His run of nine wins to close out the 2013 season matched Alberto Ascari’s record from 1952-53 and, while he failed like so many others to take Ferrari back to glory, Vettel’s place among F1’s all-time greats cannot be questioned.
The final years of Vettel’s career are likely to be remembered less for his on-track efforts than his becoming the voice F1 has needed, unafraid to hold a mirror up to the series and highlight its shortcomings. He’s even held that mirror up to himself, calling himself a hypocrite on British television just months ago because of his commitment to the environment while racing in a gas-guzzling, globetrotting series – which is also part of his consideration to call it quits.
In his retirement, Vettel is going to be a phenomenal force in encouraging the change the world needs, using his platform as an F1 great to spread the word and hold people to account. But the biggest loss for F1 is losing someone who is so eager and willing to speak up on the important stuff.
When news of spectator harassment emerged at the Austrian Grand Prix, who was the first to call for lifetime bans against the perpetrators? Vettel. Who was the one wearing a rainbow shirt in Hungary last year to speak out against the country’s ANTI-LGBTQ+ community laws? Vettel. And who was the one joining Lewis Hamilton in leading drivers to take the knee and speak up amid activism around the world in 2020? Vettel. He has been the focal point of F1’s moral compass in recent years.
Let’s cherish these last nine races of Sebastian Vettel, the F1 driver. But know full well that Sebastian Vettel, the man fighting to make the world a better place, is just getting started.