The 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the last of the career in Formula 1 of Sebastian Vettelwhich thus leaves the Circus after 15 years lived almost all fighting for victory. The German, four times world champion from 2010 to 2013 always at the wheel of Red Bull, failed to achieve the same goals with Ferrari, however graduating vice-champion in the two-year period 2017-2018 before signing with Aston Martin after a total of 53 victories, 57 pole positions and 122 podiums.
With the British team, while never seriously battling for the top step of the podium, Vettel seemed free from the pressures typical of top teams, which is why the decision to retire seemed strange for another former world champion of German nationality like Nico Rosberg. The latter, who took everyone by surprise by hanging up his helmet in the 2016 shortly after his world champion victory, he made a comparison between his decision and that of his compatriot, without criticizing the latter’s choice in any way, even though he did not fully understand it: “I absolutely wanted to avoid ending up in a negative spiral and to sink deeper and deeper – he explained to Sport1 – this was a horrible scenario for me. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Seb either, but whether he stopped at the right time is a question only he can answer. In the last few races it seemed that he was free and that he was riding like him in his best period. He drove brilliant races and showed incredible things: in Austin he was leading and in Brazil he was fourth or fifth with an extremely slow car. He is back to being very strong, and for this I think he ended his career well“.
Returning to Vettel’s general adventure in Formula 1, Rosberg then praised the successes of the number 5, without forgetting his more negative periods: “His was a legendary career – added the former Mercedes – Seb is one of the most successful drivers of all time, and it’s amazing what he has achieved in Formula 1. The four titles in a row is obviously crazy. He has had phases where he drove fantastic again, for example at the end of this season, but it wasn’t always like that: he often spun himself, which is absolutely inexplicable for a four-times World Champion. world. It was strange that these things happened race after race. Mentally it must have been difficult.”
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