Sebastian Vettel is a four-time Formula One World Champion and one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport. Sebastian Vettel is also famous for his sense of humour and generally affable personality on the grid. Sebastian Vettel appeared for the first time in Formula One as a replacement for the injured Robert Kubica in 2007. During the same year, Sebastian Vettel joined the Toro Rosso team as a replacement for outgoing driver Scott Speed. Torro Rosso was the developmental team for the dominant Red Bull Racing team. In 2008, in a rain drenched Italian Grand Prix at the historic Monza circuit, Sebastian Vettel earned his first (and Torro Rosso’s only) F1 victory. After a strong 2008 season, Sebastian Vettel moved up to the Red Bull Racing team in 2009 and had an extremely dominant run with them until he joined Ferrari after the 2014 season. Sebastian Vettel’s time at Red Bull Racing was one of the most dominant runs in the history of the sport. He won four back to back titles between 2010-2013. Vettel’s dominance was not a result of weaker competition. The field had stalwarts like Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg competing against him as well. Sebastian Vettel also became very famous for his incredible helmet designs during his dominant run with Red Bull Racing. He is currently signed with Ferrari and earns about $36.3 million per year along with bonuses. However, after a string of poor performances and mind boggling race strategy by the Ferrari pit crew, Vettel’s relationship with the team reached a point of no return and he will be joining the Aston Martin team for the 2021 F1 season. Let’s find out more about one of the most decorated racing drivers of all time.
Sebastian Vettel: Racing Career, Accomplishments, Cars and More
Sebastian Vettel: F1 Career
Sebastian Vettel’s 2008 race victory in Monza and further progress at an early age ensured that he has a lot of records to his name. Sebastian Vettel is the youngest driver to score a pole position, a race victory, a double (pole + race), and a triple (pole + race + fastest lap). His 13 race victories in 2013 and 15 pole positions in 2011, are still a record for a single season.
While he holds a long list of accolades in Formula 1, Sebastian Vettel is also one of the wittiest drivers on the grid. His perfectly timed quips and witty jabs during team radio messages and interviews have become a big hit among the fans.
How has Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari career been?
After an incredibly dominant four year run with Red Bull Racig, Sebastian Vettel joined the hallowed Scuderia ferrari racing team. Joining the team in early 2015, Vettel was the guiding light that Ferrari needed after a dismal 2014 season. One could argue that Vettel resurrected Ferrari in the turbo-hybrid era of Formula 1.
Despite getting off to a positive start, Sebastian’s Ferrari journey was full of ups and downs. He endured a difficult season in 2016 – scoring no wins and driving a car that wasn’t very competitive.
However, things changed in 2017. the SF70h was more than a match for the Mercedes W08 and for the first time in the turbo-hybrid era, Ferrari could challenge Mercedes for the Championship. While Ferrari and Vettel made good progress in the first half of 2017, the quest to end Mercedes’ domination fizzled in the latter half of the season. Mercedes made a big step up in car development. Furthermore, a series of reliability issues and driver mistakes effectively ended the Scuderia’s hopes of Championship that year.
But the team went back to the drawing board of developed a monster of a car for the 2018 season. The SF71h seemed destined to put an end to Mercedes’s winning streak, but a sequence of driver errors meant it was not to be. Vettel came agonizingly close to clinching his first Championship with Ferrari in 2018, but his campaign fell apart towards the end of the season. It all started when Vettel crashed out of the German Grand Prix as a race leader. Ferrari’s season started unravelling and Mercedes grew stronger with every race, eventually winning both the Driver’s and Constructor’s Championships.
2019 was a difficult season for the German driver. Vettel had to put up with a younger, much faster teammate in Charles Leclerc while racing in a car that was uncompetitive and unsuited to his driving style. Scoring only a single win, Sebastian Vettel ended the season fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. It was also the first time he was thoroughly outperformed by his teammate, especially towards the end of the season.
Why has Sebastian Vettel signed with Aston Martin?
The equation between Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc gave the team enough troubles.
The 2020 season was put on hold due to COVID-19 but Vettel dropped a bombshell regarding his future at Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel officially announced that he and Ferrari would not be renewing their contract for 2021 and beyond. A lot of speculation about his future went on for some time. Ferrari’s 2020 car is alarmingly slow and they have barely been able to squeak into the top 10 either. As things went from bad to worse, it was announced that Sebastian Vettel will be moving to the Aston Martin team for the 2021 season. Vettel can look back at his time with Ferrari with pride. The German currently sits third in the list of all-time wins for the Scuderia. Only behind F1 legends – Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda. So far, Vettel has scored 12 Pole Positions and clinched 14 wins for Ferrari.
Who is Sebastian Vettel married to?
Sebastian Vettel prefers keeping his personal life away from all the glitz and glamor of F1. Nobody knows a lot about his private life, but there are a few details.
The 32-year-old married his childhood friend Hanna Prater in 2019.
How many children does Sebastian Vettel have?
Vettel and his wife Hanna Prater have three children,–Emilie, Mathilda, and a son born in November 2019.
Where does Sebastian Vettel live?
The 4-time World Champion lives in a medieval-style farmhouse in Thurgau, Switzerland.
Which cars and bikes does Sebastian Vettel own?
While he races some of the fastest cars on track, he prefers two wheels off the track. The German driver has an enviable vintage motorcycle collection and often arrives at circuits on one of his cool bikes. Let’s look at the cars and bikes owned by Vettel.
Suzuki T 500
The German driver owns a classic Suzuki T series bikes which has an engine capacity ranging between 90-500cc. It is a piston ported air-cooled 2 stroke twin cylinder engine. The 250cc and above models were fitted with twin leading shoe drum brakes and after 1975 disc front brakes were introduced in the bikes
Kawasaki H2 750
This Kawasaki classic was released in 1972. It has a 748cc air-cooled two-stroke engine along with 55KW power. It has a large displacement with less aggressive porting and ignition timing. Even though the bike is almost 50 years old, it can still hit a top speed of 190 km/h. The bike is a rare collectible as it’s production stopped in 1975. Sebastian vettel really wanted it, and he got it.
Suzuki GSX R750
Moving to the sportier side of things, the Suzuki GSX 750 is another beast owned by the Ferrari driver. He feels that motorcycles are truly unbeatable and hence keeps adding to his incredible collection. Vettel bought this amazing sports bike because of his adventurous attitude and love for bikes.
KTM 390
The KTM 390 is another modern sports racing bike which has advanced technology and solid build quality with a powerful engine. The 390 has a fuel tank capacity of around 10 liters and can reach a top speed of 140km/h.
Vettel is often seen riding on his sports bike around the city
BMW R Nine T
The BMW R Nine is a classic bike produced by BMW Motorrad in 2014. It has a sturdy 1170cc air-cooled flat-twin engine with Power of 96.G hp @7610 rpm. It has a front telescopic fork suspension while rear Paralever suspension. The bike also has a fuel tank capacity of 18L and reaches up to 230km/h.
Sebastian Vettel once stated- “You can stop wherever you want, get off, even in town. That’s where the motorcycle is really unbeatable
Ferrari F40
Perhaps the greatest Ferrari ever made (and one of the greatest cars ever made), the F40 is a dream car for most car lovers. Sebastian vettel bought his F40 from Italian opera legend Luciano Pavarotti in 2015.
Only 1,311 of the classic car were made, which was constructed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Italian firm. The car cost vettel a little over $2 million to buy.
Ferrari California T
In the same year that he bought the F40, Vettel also purchased a Ferrari California T. While it’s not a rare classic like the F40, it’s still a great front engined grand tourer.
Worth almost £150,000, Vettel’s deep red car has been seen joining him at Ferrari’s base at Maranello. The champ is also reported to have bought one of the cars for his dad Norbert.
Mercedes Benz SL-65 AMG
Vettel was given this car as gift after winning his first world championship at the Abu Dhabi GP in 2010.
Painted all black, with a menacing black metal grill, the car was a gifted to him by the race organisers for winning the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Worth around £250,000, the 661bhp car with a top speed of 198mph is likely to be the only Mercedes the German is going to drive anytime soon.
MINI Countryman
Vettel caught hold of this gorgeous car in the very year it was launched, it was unveiled in 2010 at Geneva Motor show. Vettel’s Countryman is black and he drives it around quite often.
Infiniti FX
During Vettel’s Red Bull days, Infiniti rolled out the Infiniti FX Vettel edition. Only 150 limited edition cars were launched by Infiniti to celebrate the champion’s Double World Championship title in the year 2011. So ofcourse Vettel has the car that was made in his honour.
What are Sebastian Vettel’s endorsements?
Sebastian Vettel is endorsed by watch brand, Casio, car manufacturer Infiniti, car petroleum brand Shell & clothing brand Pepe Jeans. Sebastian Vettel’s endorsements are worth over $300,000.
Which are the charities that Sebastian Vettel is involved with?
Sebastian Vettel is involved with two charities: Champions for Charity and United Charity. Through his charities, Sebastian Vettel directs his efforts towards children’s welfare. Vettel is also an avid football fan and he participates in numerous celebrity football games to raise money for charity.
Vettel has also made sizeable donations to the ‘Grace P Kelly Association’, a German organization that hellps children afflicted with cancer.
In early 2019, Vettel teamed up with teammates Charles Leclerc and star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in a charity football match for the Piedmontese Foundation for Cancer Research and for the Telethon Foundation.
Sebastian Vettel: Best Quotes
It was an unbelievable experience! The brakes, the g-forces and the power of the engine are beyond description. Thanks to BMW and WilliamsF1 for giving me this chance to test. The test team looked after me brilliantly and I learnt plenty.
When I went into the last lap I was regretting a bit that it was over. I was enjoying again the first sector for the last time. Simply fantastic this circuit, and if you get 53 laps more, you appreciate it even more. It’s made by God’s hands.
I’m very proud to be the first winner of the Indian Grand Prix, but then on the other hand we recently lost two of our mates. I didn’t know Dan Wheldon, but he was big in motorsport, and then this year I got to know Marco Simoncelli, so our thoughts are with them at the moment.
When you walk the track and you see a corner and realise you were going round it at 160mph, you wonder who could be so stupid to take a corner at that speed. But in the car, you don’t even think about that.
The bottom line is what we do might not be the safest so there is always some risk but we are ready to take that into account because we love racing and we love motor sports and it is dangerous.
I was quite emotional when I finished my lap, but had to wait for other drivers to cross the line to hear whether I’d actually done it. It feels very special, but I acknowledge that the old master, Nigel Mansell, took his 14 poles from only 16 races.
The bottom line is what we do might not be the safest so there is always some risk but we are ready to take that into account because we love racing and we love motor sports and it is dangerous.
There is no secret, once we go to qualifying, we all seem to enjoy it. Qualifying is all about putting everything that you have and that the car has in one lap. It’s like a rush, I really enjoy that.
So that was a snapshot of four time F1 World champion, Sebastian vettel. After the end of this season and an underwhelming stint with Ferrari, Vettel is moving on to the Aston Martin team. Hopefully, he will have better luck with his new team. We will leave you with some of his highlights with Ferrari.