Sebastian Vettel

"Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One™ Team driver - and, although our results have not been as good as we had hoped ...

"Sebastian is a superb driver - fast, intelligent and strategic - and of course we are going to miss those qualities. "He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. We will give him a fabulous send-off." All in. "I have really enjoyed working with such a great bunch of people. But today is not about saying goodbye.

The 35-year-old German will end a career which yielded four world championships and 53 Grand Prix wins.

Sebastian Vettel has announced his plan to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.

He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th grand prix entry. He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. He left Maranello at the end of 2020 to join Aston Martin, with whom he will see out his F1 career.

Vettel is out of contract with Aston Martin at the end of this season and, after weeks of speculation about his future, has now confirmed he will be stepping ...

The energy it takes to become one with the car and the team, to chase perfection takes focus and commitment. I believe that there is still a race to win. Children are our future, further I feel there is so much to explore and learn about life and about myself. My passion comes with certain aspects that I have learned to dislike. "My passion with racing and Formula One comes with lots of time spent away from them, and takes a lot of energy. "Committing to my passion the way I did and the way I think it is right, does no longer go side by side with my wish to be a great father and husband.

Sebastian Vettel's announcement that he will leave Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season means an empty slot will be left at Aston Martin for 2023.

The team uses Mercedes engines and that there are all sorts of connections between Stroll and Toto Wolff that would make such a deal painless. He has a reputation for being disruptive and looking after his own interests, and that doesn't fit with the job of being Lance Stroll's team-mate. Mick Schumacher is also out of contract at Haas, and no doubt Vettel will be singing the praises of his protege. That would open up a seat for Colton Herta or someone else that McLaren wants to promote. But is he really the man the team wants? In addition, Aston is a car manufacturer, and there are marketing considerations.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has announced he is retiring from Formula One at the end of the season.

He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable.” He will call time on his F1 career at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi which will be his 300th meeting. “At the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next,” he said. “But in the end he has done what he feels is right for himself and his family, and of course we respect that. These are issues he is likely to continue to pursue but he did not reveal his plans for the future. He stayed with Ferrari until the end of 2020 and joined Aston Martin in 2021 but has not won a race since the Singapore Grand Prix in 2019.

Lewis Hamilton has praised rival Sebastian Vettel for supporting his anti-racism campaigning, after the four-time world champion confirmed he will retire ...

I could see how professional he was and it gave me a good insight into how you need to behave and how you need to be, to be a successful F1 driver like he was. I wish him the best and we will miss him. To see him go is something that you can see coming. (It's) not the news that I want. "He has been one of the very, very few drivers in racing history that has stood for much more than himself. Obviously personally, I spent some time alongside him which was a privilege.

Sebastian Vettel won four consecutive F1 world titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013. · The 35-year-old German will see out the final season of his career ...

The 35-year-old German, who spent six seasons with Ferrari after joining the Italian team in 2015, will see out the remainder of his final campaign with Aston Martin. - The 35-year-old German will see out the final season of his career with Aston Martin. After making his debut in 2007, Vettel went on to win four consecutive world championships for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, the first of which made him the sport's youngest title winner.

Sebastian Vettel isn't like any racing driver Formula 1 has ever seen so it was perhaps fitting that the way he announced his retirement shocked everyone.

And it's a tough call, but one the billionaire has time to ponder. Their reserve Nico Hulkenberg is an option and has done a solid job when he’s been parachuted in, but he’s not the big-name signing that Stroll craves. They want the prestige that they bring, but also the experience that will deliver engineering expertise to support Lance Stroll, who is still reasonably early in his F1 career. They know he will give it everything, as he is doing at Alpine, and has the potential to deliver some huge results. But Vettel has proved that he is more than capable of making this next chapter of his life a huge success. At 35, with Vettel keen not to miss more of his children growing up and his perspective widening to include pushing for change outside F1 – whether that’s for greater equality or a push for sustainability and kindness to the environment – he decided it was time. He has the making of a successful philanthropist. When Vettel sets his mind to something, he follows through and makes a success of it. It’s the unknown, the polar opposite of what his life has been like for the last 15 years. Worse still, the significant upgrades they have brought to the track have not delivered the kind of pace they were supposed to. Aston Martin wanted Vettel, whose two-year deal expired at the end of this year, to stay on for a third season. The German has had a positive impact on billionaire Lawrence Stroll’s team in a reasonably short amount of time.

Following the announcement of his retirement, F1 rival Lewis Hamilton said Sebastian Vettel is "one of the greatest people" F1 has ever had.

It's really kind of been him standing out into the uncomfortable light and trying to do something with the platform that we have and I think that's why for me he's very much unlike any other drivers that have been here, past or present." "He's been so supportive to me and I'd like to think I've supported him also. "I think he's one of the greatest people we've seen in this sport and we need more like him. But I do hope it will be in a better place and we have not wasted our time." Over time we've started to see one another take those brave steps and standing up for things we believe in and been able to support each other. he's been so brave in speaking out and standing for what he believes in.

The youngest driver to win a title will leave the sport at the end of the 2022 season, when his contract with Aston Martin concludes.

I love it, and every time I step in the car I love it,” he said during the May television appearance. In his retirement announcement, Vettel cited a desire to spend more time with his family and on his personal interests. Vettel won his four championships consecutively from 2010 to 2013, tying Alain Prost for the third most in Formula One history by the time he was 26.

Sebastian Vettel's retirement means there's a vacant seat in F1 for 2023. Who's your money on?

The idea of going up against Stroll as a rookie might appeal, but the team’s form lately might not. Alpine is in the position of needing to hand Oscar Piastri a drive in 2023, or risk losing his services. If they chose youth over experience, could Alonso make a sensational switch to Aston? Seems unlikely, but only he knows the true contents of ‘El Plan’... TG has hastily scribbled down some names (and in no way accurate or legally binding) odds on a scrap of paper, now yours for inspection below. He’s clearly ready for bigger things but he's tied to a contract until the end of 2023, and while parent company Red Bull have no interest in promoting him again, they also won’t let him go. The prospect was always on the cards but only last week the 35-year-old had hinted that he was open to continuing with Aston Martin beyond this season.

Sebastian Vettel has explained that his decision to retire at the end of the 2022 season was not taken lightly – and that it's been a decision that has ...

“I feel a little bit the opposite. Other than the children are growing, it’s other interests and views and I cannot ignore these voices. Last week, Vettel said he had a “clear intention” to stay in Formula 1 beyond the 2022 season.

Haas' Mick Schumacher makes the short list of Formula 1 drivers who could be a fit at Aston Martin in 2023.

Haas has spent 18 months getting Schumacher to this stage and is not keen on starting from zero with another driver. But unlike Ferrari, Red Bull or Mercedes Aston Martin does not have a young driver program from which it has options to build around. It has a power unit partnership with Mercedes but, unlike Williams, that has not extended to those in the cockpit. There is no driver available who can bring the knowledge of 53 wins, four titles and 15 years of experience in leading teams to Aston Martin. Krack accepted that “the groundwork that Sebastian has done last year, and is still doing this year, is crucial” at a team that has for decades been rooted in the midfield but now has the ambition—and the finances—to fight at the front. There is also Pierre Gasly, now approaching 100 Grands Prix and a race winner, but he has a 2023 AlphaTauri contract and was firm. Ricciardo is the only other multiple race winner on the grid facing an uncertain future but both he and McLaren have been adamant that his 2023 contract with the team will be respected.

Sebastian Vettel has backed Haas driver Mick Schumacher to replace him at Aston Martin when he retires at the end of this season.

"We need to start to speak to Gene about it and talk through the different scenarios of what we are going to do. Schumacher currently drives for Haas but is not contracted to the team beyond the end of this year. "We did have a very, very brief chat about what might be next.

Another former world champion, a struggling race winner, and a potential protege are all candidates to fill the seat that will be vacated by Vettel next ...

Both men will be open to discussions with rivals while their futures uncertain, and a long-term project could appeal. Alonso and Drugovich seem like they sit at the unrealistic end of the scale, for very different reasons. The second difficulty Drugovich faces is that the standard of driver in F2 is not especially high this year. The first is his age. But, as De Vries and Piastri have found out, things don’t quite work like that for a variety of reasons. After all, the sport must renew itself by bringing through the next generation, and there is little a young driver can do other than beat his rivals to the junior title. Ricciardo would still have an F1 career, and would be team leader at an outfit built around him, without having to worry about beating a hugely talented team-mate who could compete for the title in the right machinery. But Aston Martin could rival their fellow Brits for Piastri’s agreement. Replacing Vettel with another former champion, who remains one of the top five drivers on the grid on raw pace and ability, would be a huge win. But I do think he’s a great driver.” But in truth, Hulkenberg’s time has come and gone. So now with their star man departing, who could Stroll and team principal Mike Krack turn to in order to keep their project alive?

SEBASTIAN VETTEL has announced his retirement from F1 at the end of the season.

Despite being part of the Mercedes programme, Wolff admitted over the French Grand Prix weekend that the team may need to let de Vries go. It appears his services are in top demand with rumours linking de Vries to a seat at Maserati’s Formula E squad next year. De Vries stepped in for Hamilton in FP1 at the French Grand Prix last week.

The four-time champion spoke on his mindset entering the next chapter of his life ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Should the day come that he’s wanting for a hit of adrenaline, a number of racing teams would certainly be happy to oblige him, even on just a sporadic occurrence. But to me voice and reach have never been at the foreground, it has always been sort of the message, because it’s what I really believe in.” “What hurts me is that people like George [Russell], Lando [Norris], Charles [Leclerc], Max [Verstappen] – they don’t have the same freedoms as maybe Lewis [Hamilton] and I had. I think that would be the wrong motivator. And I think for every sportsman and woman probably the biggest challenge is waiting for us once we decide to do other things. “In all honesty, I’m also scared of what’s coming, because it might be a hole.