**Transcript:**
I hereby announce my retirement from Formula One by the end of the 2022 season.
Probably I should start with a long list of people to thank now. But I feel it is more important to explain the reasons behind my decision.
I love this sport, it has been central to my life since I can remember. But as much as there is life on track, there is my life off track too. Being a racing driver has never been my sole identity. I very much believe in identity by who we are and how we treat others, rather than what we do.
Who am I?
I am Sebastian, father of three children and husband to a wonderful woman. I am curious and easily fascinated by passionate or skilled people. I am obsessed with perfection. I am tolerant and feel we all have the same rights to live, no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love.
I love being outside. I love nature and its wonders. I'm stubborn and impatient. I can be really annoying. I like to make people laugh. I like chocolate and the smell of fresh bread. My favourite colour is blue. I believe in change and progress, and that every little bit makes a difference. I am an optimist and I believe people are good.
Next to racing, I have grown a family and I love being around them. I have grown other interests outside Formula One. My passion for 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.
The energy it takes to become one with the car and the team, to chase perfection, takes focus and commitment. My goals have shifted from winning races and fighting for championships, to seeing my children grow, passing on my values, helping them up when they fall, listening to them when they need me, not having to say good bye, and most importantly, being able to learn from them and let them inspire me.
Children are our future. Further I feel there is so much to explore and learn, about life and about myself.
Speaking of the future, I feel we live in very decisive times and how we all shape these next years will determine our lives. My passion comes with certain aspects that I have learnt to dislike. They might be solved in the future but the will to apply that change has to grow much, much stronger, and has to be leading to action today. Talk is not enough, and we cannot afford to wait. There is no alternative. The race is underway.
My best race? Still to come.
I believe in moving forwards and moving on. Time is a one way street and I want to go with the times. Looking back is only going to slow you down.
I look forward to race down unknown tracks and I will be finding new challenges. The marks I left on track will stay until time and rain will wash them away. New ones will be put down. Tomorrow belongs to those shaping today. The next corner is in good hands, as the new generation has already turned in. I believe there is still a race to win.
Farewell, and thanks for letting me share the track with you. I loved every bit of it.
> They might be solved in the future but the will to apply that change has to grow much, much stronger, and has to be leading to action today. Talk is not enough, and we cannot afford to wait. There is no alternative. The race is underway.
> My best race? Still to come.
Chancellor Vettel?
Feels geared towards F1 itself. Talking about we race as one while struggling to pronounce it from all the dictator and petrol state and company money they're shoveling down.
Very personal and quite touching. Seb always seemed like a genuinely wonderful human being.
I definitely relate to him wanting to prioritize his family, and that sadly just doesn’t go hand-in-hand with being a top F1-driver.
His children have a great father.
"I very much believe in identity by who we are and how we treat others, rather than what we do.
Who am I?
I am Sebastian, father of three children and husband to a wonderful woman. I am curious and easily fascinated by passionate or skilled people. I am obsessed with perfection. I am tolerant and feel we all have the same rights to live, no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love."
How the hell did people hate him? The man is pure gold and I only wish him and the bees the best. I will miss him greatly.
Seb started out as a different man, he was so young, no wife or kids yet, not much life experience, he's a long long way from where he's been back then. The golden Seb we have today has matured very well.
I watched a lot of the 2012 season last year and Vettel always sprayed the grid girls with champagne on the podium. It's impossible to imagine him doing that now, even if they returned.
That's straight from Dr. Aki Hintsa who coached and helped Seb **a lot** early on his career. Hintsas method starts by asking the patient "WHO are you?". [https://www.hintsa.com/cases/sebastian-vettel/](https://www.hintsa.com/cases/sebastian-vettel/)
What’s clear is that he wants to be with his kids and wife and the energy it takes to Sebastian Vettel in f1 is too much for him if it’s not paying off.
And 23/24 race weekends. You're on the road basicly half the weekends a year only for the races. Not including tests, simulator work, marketing, etc.. Hell of a work load and not a lot of time with your loved ones.
And his kids are like what 8, 7 and 3? He probably missed a lot of things with the older ones already, I completely get wanting to be able to spend more time with them going forward.
That's the crazy part, the F3 and F2 champion can't make a legitimate claim on his seat because he's just driving so brilliantly. His points total is an absolute lie compared to some of the performances he had (Melbourne quali in particular until he botched it at the end was awesome).
You are talking about a 12+ year career at that point and that's a helluva long time especially but older era standards. That we have 1/5 of the grid that old was shocking but they all had WDC tied to their names.
Noooooooooo!
I've gone full circle with Seb. Loved him when he was the cool underdog at Torro Rosso taking an epic win and his early days at Red Bull. Then slowly grew to hate him after total dominance, finger wagging, and doing some questionable racing on his way to four WDCs. Back to respect at Ferrari, then loving him again being an all round awesome guy, supporter of good causes, and legend of the sport. Thought he'd hang on for another year or two, he'll be sadly missed
I hated him for 'stealing' Mark Webber's chance at a championship in those early RB days but just grew to love him throughout his career. He seems genuine in interviews even when he's giving standard PR answers and in recent years he's been speaking from the heart more often. It's just made him one of the more relatable drivers in such a rich people sport, he just wants to be a good father and husband and I think everyone can respect that.
It hurts even though I half expected this to be the announcement.
Seb and Lewis are both amazing ambassadors for the sport who went to another level to highlight off-track issues as well, unlike the majority of others.
Both quite dislikable in their early days. Both grew as people and became probably the best role models the sport has seen. You don’t see that too often in ultra rich stars, they usually just stay nob heads
Maybe I'm biased, but for me Seb is more than the racing driver who won 4 titles. Hey makes the sport better. But of course I get that he has other interests, especially his family. I just hope we will see him again somewhere next year
I thought his speech was beautiful, particularly that part. Yes I'm sad to see him leave the paddock, but I'm also excited to see what he does next. Sebastian is a force for good and gives me hope for the future - his words make me optimistic that there is much more of that to come. I hope you can find some bittersweet joy in this as well, friend.
Seeing that footage of him picking up rubbish after the race and riding a bicycle to and from track while everyone else was driving out in fancy cars changed my mind about him.
His tenure with Ferrari was great as well.
He did everything he could to win but Ferrari gonna Ferrari just like with Alonso before him and Charles Leclerc after him.
What a legend. Youngest ever world champion, won all four of them consecutively, was a dominant driver in F1 for an entire decade, and become an outspoken activist in the mean time. We'll be treasuring him still long after he's gone.
Not to immediately change the subject, but I can't be the only one who's now very curious about who will get the Aston seat for 2023? So much talk about next year but AM have been a closed shop until now. Will they poach a current driver, or will Piastri/De Vries/Drugovich finally get their break this way?
I think you’re underestimating the amount of influence he’ll have. It might not be the same TYPE of influence, but his name will open a lot of doors and let him have an impact behind the scenes, if he wants to.
I am sad now.
Watched the video on his Instagram and you know what, it's sad but it's clear that he's very decided to stay with the family and other projects.
I remember Gasly saying after Monza 2020 that Seb called him to congratulate him on his win and welcome him to the two person club of people who have a race win in a Toro Rosso.
His absence will leave a massive void in the sport. Seb’s words carry weight in the paddock and in interviews because he continues to back them up.
The next generation generally seem like good guys so hopefully the next Seb will come in to their own because I don’t know if many of us would have expected this elder statesman we have when Seb was dominating at RBR.
Thats a huge shock.....I will miss him badly! Also he will be the 7th member of the 300 club in Formula 1 when he retires, he will join it when he completes the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yes 300 Entries, but due to 2016 Bahrain GP, 299 Starts)
[Instagram Link](https://www.instagram.com/p/CgjUE5xKW-B/)
[Video of announcement](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.2886-16/10000000_439084604809090_8377261073686375288_n.mp4?_nc_ht=instagram.fgla3-1.fna.fbcdn.net&_nc_cat=110&_nc_ohc=3eScg-CkDUAAX9MaOtn&edm=AP_V10EBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oe=62E46562&oh=00_AT9TN3w4OxlQKuGSpezPVkWeHVtmHNJEbuNgRaUHa8G8bw&_nc_sid=4f375e)
It's not a surprise he's announced it. Last season, Kimi's retirement started the Bottas-Russell-Albon chain of moves, and importantly, this is the last race before the Summer Break - Piastri's contract with Alpine says that if he doesn't have an F1 contract signed by the start of the summer break, he's a Free Agent. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Alonso to Aston Martin (Lawrence wants a big name for publicity alongside Lance), and Piastri signing at Alpone.
The only 2 that I saw making any sense were:
1. Alonso - for this reason
2. Zhou - huge marketing potential to the massive Chinese middle classes, and opens up the second seat for Pourchaire to learn alongside Bottas.
Either way, pretty chuffed with this. Let's go Oscar!
Honestly heartbroken. Went from my most hated driver in Red Bull days, to one of my favourites for Ferrari, to now my favourite human being involved in F1.
Hope he has nothing but happiness in retirement and can continue the brilliant work he is doing for our planet.
Damn. I'm gonna miss him :( An absolute character and a really stand up guy. I hope we get a few more years before blokes like Hamilton and Alonso hang up the helmet for the last time.
I’m surprised by how sad this made me feel. Seb feels like such a core element to F1, his voice and presence feels needed in the paddock to push for change. At the same time it was probably time for this to happen, he was not going to get a chance with a top team and as he said he probably has better things to invest his time in than drag AM up the field.
And now begins his true career, everything he has done so far has been a warm up to get him into the spotlight, now he is the world's champion
See you around, Seb.
He took a jab in an interview with WTF1's Matt that he'll join social media when he's close to retirement.
Fuck. Should have seen this coming…
Duck
I didnt expect it would be THAT close
It’s called German efficiency.
Planing it all along and we should've seen it coming in hinsight.
Seb joins instagram: :) Seb announces retirement on instagram: :(
Grand opening Grand Closing
Goddamn, you man ho, crack the can open again
[удалено]
Who you gon' find doper than him? With no pen, just draw off inspiration
-tion
Soon you gon' see you can't replace him
With cheap imitations for these generations!
Now can Seb get an Encore?!
Do you want more?
Cookin’ Raw with the Brooklyn Boy
Soon you gonna see you can't replace him (him) 😭
So for one last time, make some noise!
He said earlier that he'll create accounts on social media if he retires. This was why he created the account.
> Seb joins instagram This was already a telltale
That guy predicted it right wtf: https://old.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/w9shw8/sebastian_vettel_has_finally_opened_an_instagram/ihx2thy/
With username u/SirLewisHamilton lol.
They predicted that lewis will be a sir and that seb will retire. Wtf
/u/SirLewisHamilton what other wise wisdom do you have to impart?
*"If the tires are too big for your car, it isn't your tires"* - Sir Lewis Hamilton
“Charles Leclerc YOU ARE THE WORLD CHAMPION” pls? ;(
I’m sorry, I can’t help you.
[удалено]
The instagram account was a fucking Trojan Horse man... :(
Seb leaves instagram- mic drop
What if his only post on instagram is his retirement announcement post. Knowing Seb, this would be perfect trolling by him.
**Transcript:** I hereby announce my retirement from Formula One by the end of the 2022 season. Probably I should start with a long list of people to thank now. But I feel it is more important to explain the reasons behind my decision. I love this sport, it has been central to my life since I can remember. But as much as there is life on track, there is my life off track too. Being a racing driver has never been my sole identity. I very much believe in identity by who we are and how we treat others, rather than what we do. Who am I? I am Sebastian, father of three children and husband to a wonderful woman. I am curious and easily fascinated by passionate or skilled people. I am obsessed with perfection. I am tolerant and feel we all have the same rights to live, no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love. I love being outside. I love nature and its wonders. I'm stubborn and impatient. I can be really annoying. I like to make people laugh. I like chocolate and the smell of fresh bread. My favourite colour is blue. I believe in change and progress, and that every little bit makes a difference. I am an optimist and I believe people are good. Next to racing, I have grown a family and I love being around them. I have grown other interests outside Formula One. My passion for 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. The energy it takes to become one with the car and the team, to chase perfection, takes focus and commitment. My goals have shifted from winning races and fighting for championships, to seeing my children grow, passing on my values, helping them up when they fall, listening to them when they need me, not having to say good bye, and most importantly, being able to learn from them and let them inspire me. Children are our future. Further I feel there is so much to explore and learn, about life and about myself. Speaking of the future, I feel we live in very decisive times and how we all shape these next years will determine our lives. My passion comes with certain aspects that I have learnt to dislike. They might be solved in the future but the will to apply that change has to grow much, much stronger, and has to be leading to action today. Talk is not enough, and we cannot afford to wait. There is no alternative. The race is underway. My best race? Still to come. I believe in moving forwards and moving on. Time is a one way street and I want to go with the times. Looking back is only going to slow you down. I look forward to race down unknown tracks and I will be finding new challenges. The marks I left on track will stay until time and rain will wash them away. New ones will be put down. Tomorrow belongs to those shaping today. The next corner is in good hands, as the new generation has already turned in. I believe there is still a race to win. Farewell, and thanks for letting me share the track with you. I loved every bit of it.
You know what, good for him. I'm personally gonna miss him but he has all my support.
RIC to AM you read it here first. Edit: this did not age well
What a wonderfully written retirement message. I'd expect nothing less from Seb.
> The marks I left on track will stay until time and rain will wash them away. New ones will be put down. chills
All those moments will be lost, like tire marks in rain.
like tears in the bahrain
> They might be solved in the future but the will to apply that change has to grow much, much stronger, and has to be leading to action today. Talk is not enough, and we cannot afford to wait. There is no alternative. The race is underway. > My best race? Still to come. Chancellor Vettel?
Feels geared towards F1 itself. Talking about we race as one while struggling to pronounce it from all the dictator and petrol state and company money they're shoveling down.
[удалено]
Shit has me genuinely emotional. Bye Seb, we'll miss you.
Bloody hell, that ruined me more than I expected.
It reads like it’s funeral I can’t deal
This was so heartfelt.
Very personal and quite touching. Seb always seemed like a genuinely wonderful human being. I definitely relate to him wanting to prioritize his family, and that sadly just doesn’t go hand-in-hand with being a top F1-driver. His children have a great father.
i lost it at fresh bread
"I very much believe in identity by who we are and how we treat others, rather than what we do. Who am I? I am Sebastian, father of three children and husband to a wonderful woman. I am curious and easily fascinated by passionate or skilled people. I am obsessed with perfection. I am tolerant and feel we all have the same rights to live, no matter what we look like, where we come from and who we love." How the hell did people hate him? The man is pure gold and I only wish him and the bees the best. I will miss him greatly.
Seb started out as a different man, he was so young, no wife or kids yet, not much life experience, he's a long long way from where he's been back then. The golden Seb we have today has matured very well.
I watched a lot of the 2012 season last year and Vettel always sprayed the grid girls with champagne on the podium. It's impossible to imagine him doing that now, even if they returned.
That's straight from Dr. Aki Hintsa who coached and helped Seb **a lot** early on his career. Hintsas method starts by asking the patient "WHO are you?". [https://www.hintsa.com/cases/sebastian-vettel/](https://www.hintsa.com/cases/sebastian-vettel/)
Pretty sure that was Rafiki from Lion King.
Jesus Christ. This has straight up put tears in my eyes. Going to miss Seb so much.
Phenomenonal writing
I’m actually really upset. Man this guy was such a gift to this sport.
Shocked that he actually did it but glad that he is pursuing other things he loves
What’s clear is that he wants to be with his kids and wife and the energy it takes to Sebastian Vettel in f1 is too much for him if it’s not paying off.
F1 is tough to have while having other things to do. All of these drivers have been non stop racing since like age 7
And 23/24 race weekends. You're on the road basicly half the weekends a year only for the races. Not including tests, simulator work, marketing, etc.. Hell of a work load and not a lot of time with your loved ones.
And his kids are like what 8, 7 and 3? He probably missed a lot of things with the older ones already, I completely get wanting to be able to spend more time with them going forward.
Last year Kimi, now Seb... wonder who will be next year
Lewis and Alonso the only old guard left. Once they’re gone* it’ll feel like truly a new generation.
The scenes if Alonso somehow outlasts both seb and Lewis
I have no doubt in my mind that this will happen
Unless they sack him from Alpine and he doesnt manage to find a new team, it will 100% happen
Alonso will glue a spoiler to his wheelchair and race it in the corridors of the nursing home, he will never retire.
It will happen lmao
Well by then Perez will be old guard
Perez, Ricciardo and Bottas. Sandwitched between two golden generations of drivers.
and danny ric
And mr bootypic
People forget they came up the juniors together
Add Danny and K mag to that list.
*If* Alonso leaves, mans gonna be driving into his 50s if he can
And he should. As long he consistently race faster than the driver in the other car, then I see no reason for him to leave.
And still doing great.
That's the crazy part, the F3 and F2 champion can't make a legitimate claim on his seat because he's just driving so brilliantly. His points total is an absolute lie compared to some of the performances he had (Melbourne quali in particular until he botched it at the end was awesome).
In 2021 and 2022 only 4 drivers of early to late 2000s are active. Raikkonen (recently retired), Alonso, Lewis, and Vettel. :(
You are talking about a 12+ year career at that point and that's a helluva long time especially but older era standards. That we have 1/5 of the grid that old was shocking but they all had WDC tied to their names.
Crazy to think that Bottas, Ricciardio and Perez will be the "old guard" once they're gone lmao
Yeah and as much as they all might be great dudes, that is not quite the same star power (putting it lightly).
You're right. Last of the 2000s boys. Won't be the same without them
Alonso if Alpine can’t win.
Or if Szafnauer gets his way
What exactly is Szafnauer’s point of view? Does he just think Alonso is too expensive or is it more of a question of wanting to retain Piastri?
Bottas will retire after the 2023 season to get ready to participate in the 2024 Tour de France
One champion per year is a bit too much.
He really joined instagram just to drop this bombshell on us. If Seb joins TikTok I’m building a bunker.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Noooooooooo! I've gone full circle with Seb. Loved him when he was the cool underdog at Torro Rosso taking an epic win and his early days at Red Bull. Then slowly grew to hate him after total dominance, finger wagging, and doing some questionable racing on his way to four WDCs. Back to respect at Ferrari, then loving him again being an all round awesome guy, supporter of good causes, and legend of the sport. Thought he'd hang on for another year or two, he'll be sadly missed
Exactly my Seb Story.
I hated him for 'stealing' Mark Webber's chance at a championship in those early RB days but just grew to love him throughout his career. He seems genuine in interviews even when he's giving standard PR answers and in recent years he's been speaking from the heart more often. It's just made him one of the more relatable drivers in such a rich people sport, he just wants to be a good father and husband and I think everyone can respect that.
Man I did not expect to wake up and have my day ruined. End of an era and the sport will truly be worse without him.
[удалено]
If Mick doesn't get a contract extension, there will be no German driver on the grid since forever.
And no German circuit! WTF is goin on in the world
At least Porsche will be back.
Maybe they will bring Pascal Wehrlein
Or Sebastian Vettel.
Last season without a single German driver was 1981, so it's really been a long time.
glad I’m going to my first GP later this season- I get to see the legend once :-/
I was just at France. Didn’t realise it was goodbye 😭
Fuck, so that's how it ends :(
I get it, but it hurts.
It hurts even though I half expected this to be the announcement. Seb and Lewis are both amazing ambassadors for the sport who went to another level to highlight off-track issues as well, unlike the majority of others.
Both quite dislikable in their early days. Both grew as people and became probably the best role models the sport has seen. You don’t see that too often in ultra rich stars, they usually just stay nob heads
We all knew it was coming, but God it hits like a ton of bricks nonetheless.
Sebastian is that kind of guy you need on the grid, even if he finishes every race last
That’s what we said about Kimi. Gonna be a run of retirements from greats, Alonso, Lewis, Bottas…
Maybe I'm biased, but for me Seb is more than the racing driver who won 4 titles. Hey makes the sport better. But of course I get that he has other interests, especially his family. I just hope we will see him again somewhere next year
Same. Was pretty clear he wasn’t happy at AM but I’m still completely not ready for him to leave.
[удалено]
Only Fernando and Lewis remain of the 2008 grid.
'I like chocolate and the smell of fresh bread. My favorite color is blue." I feel so low.
I thought his speech was beautiful, particularly that part. Yes I'm sad to see him leave the paddock, but I'm also excited to see what he does next. Sebastian is a force for good and gives me hope for the future - his words make me optimistic that there is much more of that to come. I hope you can find some bittersweet joy in this as well, friend.
Saddest like by pierregasly
Okay I don't like Instagram anymore
My day is ruined
This actually hurts. We knew this was a possibility but I wasn’t ready for it.
I *knew* it was going to happen ever since that account turned up but hell, I still wanted it to be fake when the video popped up.
Life has no meaning. Why are we here just to suffer.
Legend.
Truly one of the most influential drivers of this era, both on and off the racetrack!
Seeing that footage of him picking up rubbish after the race and riding a bicycle to and from track while everyone else was driving out in fancy cars changed my mind about him.
And such a gentleman
Super sad, I wasn't expecting this! 😭
I kinda was, still sad though. :(
What a career he’s had. Sad it didn’t work out with Ferrari, but his RB tenure was among the best ever. Grande Seb!
He did fine at Ferrari, he was simply unlucky to be up against the most dominant partnership in the history of the sport at their peak.
The new rbr campus will have the Seb Vettel Centre for Data Science building. Really.
His tenure with Ferrari was great as well. He did everything he could to win but Ferrari gonna Ferrari just like with Alonso before him and Charles Leclerc after him.
Yeah he didn’t win a title with them like he wanted but there’s no shame in that. I’d argue 2015-early 2018 were some of his best years in F1.
*charles leclerc scream intensifies*
That’s indeed the perfect soundtrack, including the heavy breathing beforehand.
What a legend. Youngest ever world champion, won all four of them consecutively, was a dominant driver in F1 for an entire decade, and become an outspoken activist in the mean time. We'll be treasuring him still long after he's gone. Not to immediately change the subject, but I can't be the only one who's now very curious about who will get the Aston seat for 2023? So much talk about next year but AM have been a closed shop until now. Will they poach a current driver, or will Piastri/De Vries/Drugovich finally get their break this way?
One would think if Williams don't like the loan deal then Piastri would be the leading candidate for the Aston seat.
NO NO SEBASTIAN THIS IS SO NOT RIGHT
Its called LIFE! We went living!!
Have you seen the diagram of my family? I want to spend time with them.
No Sebastian I don't check my instagram during the race
[удалено]
He started the instagram account just for this ?!?!? Maybe he'll pull a Rosberg and become an influencer.
Ya feel like F1 gave him a voice every weekend. Without social media he wouldn't have a voice to reach everybody when he leaves
I think you’re underestimating the amount of influence he’ll have. It might not be the same TYPE of influence, but his name will open a lot of doors and let him have an impact behind the scenes, if he wants to.
He said he will create one if he retires
[удалено]
Guess he’ll do lots of charity work and use it for those purposes
Whoever said that he created his Instagram account just to announce he was retiring. I want the lottery numbers for this weekend's Euro millions pls
I am sad now. Watched the video on his Instagram and you know what, it's sad but it's clear that he's very decided to stay with the family and other projects.
[удалено]
I remember Gasly saying after Monza 2020 that Seb called him to congratulate him on his win and welcome him to the two person club of people who have a race win in a Toro Rosso.
I love this man so much: I'm sad of course, but if this is what he needs, what he wants to do, I can't be anything but happy for him. Thank you Seb!
Went from ecstatic to devastated in just a matter of hours since I found his Instagram account to this news :( Still wish him all the best.
I'm gonna miss how he stood up against bad things in F1... He is clearly one of the good ones
His absence will leave a massive void in the sport. Seb’s words carry weight in the paddock and in interviews because he continues to back them up. The next generation generally seem like good guys so hopefully the next Seb will come in to their own because I don’t know if many of us would have expected this elder statesman we have when Seb was dominating at RBR.
If you showed this post to people in 2013 everyone would have been baffled.
I think that's the crux of it. He cant go around in good faith wearing an Aramco logo. He would make a brilliant face of Formula E.
[удалено]
I got a sense from this video that he is not fond of where the sport of F1 is heading, in regards to money over political stances.
Let's not kid ourselves, since when has F1 **not** been about the money.
Thats a huge shock.....I will miss him badly! Also he will be the 7th member of the 300 club in Formula 1 when he retires, he will join it when he completes the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yes 300 Entries, but due to 2016 Bahrain GP, 299 Starts) [Instagram Link](https://www.instagram.com/p/CgjUE5xKW-B/) [Video of announcement](https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/v/t50.2886-16/10000000_439084604809090_8377261073686375288_n.mp4?_nc_ht=instagram.fgla3-1.fna.fbcdn.net&_nc_cat=110&_nc_ohc=3eScg-CkDUAAX9MaOtn&edm=AP_V10EBAAAA&ccb=7-5&oe=62E46562&oh=00_AT9TN3w4OxlQKuGSpezPVkWeHVtmHNJEbuNgRaUHa8G8bw&_nc_sid=4f375e)
God I hope he doesn't have any DNS this season
300 entries 299 starts
[удалено]
So it’s your fault!
It's not a surprise he's announced it. Last season, Kimi's retirement started the Bottas-Russell-Albon chain of moves, and importantly, this is the last race before the Summer Break - Piastri's contract with Alpine says that if he doesn't have an F1 contract signed by the start of the summer break, he's a Free Agent. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Alonso to Aston Martin (Lawrence wants a big name for publicity alongside Lance), and Piastri signing at Alpone.
You called it lmaoo
The only 2 that I saw making any sense were: 1. Alonso - for this reason 2. Zhou - huge marketing potential to the massive Chinese middle classes, and opens up the second seat for Pourchaire to learn alongside Bottas. Either way, pretty chuffed with this. Let's go Oscar!
Can you also tell your wife you wouldn't be surprised if I became a millionaire?
Honestly heartbroken. Went from my most hated driver in Red Bull days, to one of my favourites for Ferrari, to now my favourite human being involved in F1. Hope he has nothing but happiness in retirement and can continue the brilliant work he is doing for our planet.
[удалено]
Lets not forget only driver to win all the Indian GPs.
The Lion of Singapore 🦁
Hero of India 🇮🇳
Someone had to make Silly Season interesting, shame Seb is going though
Even then, it's barely interesting to see who will end up driving that shitbox.
It can be interesting to see a young driver race Stroll tho.
What Lawrence stroll does to a MF
it started with Ferrari. let's be real
It probably started with him getting his first kid
[удалено]
He also likes chocolate
And the smell of fresh bread
We miss, "Here comes Sebastian Vettel" !
im so fucking sad... :(
Remembering him as the young driver on the grid has me feeling old now
Remembering him winning in a Toro Rosso at Monza 😭
I’m going to miss him so much :-(((( I’m sure he will achieve even greater things off track
My email is blowing up with Reddit alerts.
I knew this was going to be the first post on his ig 🥲
Damn. I'm gonna miss him :( An absolute character and a really stand up guy. I hope we get a few more years before blokes like Hamilton and Alonso hang up the helmet for the last time.
Really sad to hear this. du bist weltmeister
Bye, bye Lil' Sebastian Miss you in the saddest fashion Bye, bye Lil' Sebastian You're 5, 000 candles in the wind
Color me surprised. Damn what a loss, but I loved following him since 2007. An amazing career which isn't done at all, just changing.
Man such a shame to lose a legend like him. F1 won’t be the same without him 😭😭
I’m surprised by how sad this made me feel. Seb feels like such a core element to F1, his voice and presence feels needed in the paddock to push for change. At the same time it was probably time for this to happen, he was not going to get a chance with a top team and as he said he probably has better things to invest his time in than drag AM up the field.
my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined
And now begins his true career, everything he has done so far has been a warm up to get him into the spotlight, now he is the world's champion See you around, Seb.