Sebastian Vettel’s mark on Formula One

Now that he's announced his retirement at season's end, let's reflect back on what he's meant to the sport and all he accomplished

Sebastian Vettel is retiring: A sentence all Formula One fans dreaded hearing. Vettel surprised everyone when he took to social media and announced the news himself on Instagram on Thursday.

The announcement was very Vettel like. The German announced his retirement in the first sentence he spoke. Vettel then described quite eloquently how he has loved the sport but wants to put all his energy towards his family and he can’t do that while racing. The Aston Martin driver also addressed his interests and passions outside of Formula One and how he knows the new generation of drivers is upon us.

When Vettel crosses the finish line for the final time on November 20th in Abu Dhabi, a massive hole will be left in the sport. The hole will be so big because of the multiple aspects of greatness he brought to Formula One.

Let’s start with his greatness on track. Where Vettel ranks all time is up for debate, but he is one of the dominant drivers of all time as well as unquestionably one of the top four drivers of the 21st century.

Vettel broke on the scene in 2007 when he was promoted from test driver to driver for BMW Sauber for the United States Grand Prix. He was then the youngest driver to score points in that race at 19 years old. He is now the fifth youngest points scorer in Formula One history.

In 2008 Vettel had his first full season in Formula One for Toro Rosso. His season with the team was highlighted by a legendary wet weather drive in Monza. Vettel put the Torro Rosso on pole and drove masterfully, winning by 12.5 seconds. At 21 years old, Vettel became the youngest driver at the time to win a Formula One race and provided Torro Rosso with their only win in Formula One. Vettel is now the second youngest driver ever to win a race behind Max Verstappen.

Vettel’s era of dominance started in 2010. In an all-time great battle for the title, Vettel was fourth in the championship and 25 points down with two races to go. The Red Bull driver then went on to win the last two races of the season and win the championship by four points over Fernando Alonso. Vettel remains the youngest Formula One World Champion ever at 23 years old.

The championship would not be taken away from Vettel until 2014. Before that, Vettel set numerous impressive records. In 2011, Vettel had a record 15 pole positions on his way to his second championship.

In 2013, the then three-time world champion had one of the most dominant seasons of all time. Vettel tied his hero Michael Schumacher for the record for most wins in a season with 13. He capped off the 2013 season by winning a record nine races in a row to finish the season. Five of those wins were by 10 seconds or more. Vettel also set the record for the biggest gap between a championship winner and second place finisher in the modern points scoring era. He beat Fernando Alonso by 155 points, which is more than six wins worth of points.

Another reason Vettel will be missed is his impact off the track. During his time in Formula One, Vettel has spoken out on many social issues such as climate change and the equal treatment of minority groups. Vettel spoke out against the Russian Grand Prix being held after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying he would not race there if the race was held. Formula One ultimately did remove the race from the 2022 calendar.

Critics of Vettel will point out he wasn’t able to win a title without Red Bull. 2013 was his last title. He switched to Ferrari in 2015 but was only able to finish runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in 2017 and 2018. Although he couldn’t get the job done with Ferrari, Vettel was able to win races in 10 different seasons, which is tied for fourth-most in F1 history.

Vettel was one of the most dominant drivers at his peak as well as one of the fiercest competitors. Any longtime Formula One fan will remember “Multi 21 Seb” and the chaos that ensued. Now Formula One will soon miss one of its best drivers and humans.

“The marks I left on track will stay until time and rain wash them away,” Vettel said in his retirement video.

Let’s hope this new generation of drivers leaves many impactful marks like Vettel did and will continue to in his next chapter.

Danke, Sebastian Vettel