By Robert Haile
Four time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has announced his retirement through his Instagram account.
At the start of the announcement Vettel went straight to the point announcing his retirement “by the end of the 2022 season.”
He then went on to explain why he has retired, describing himself without mentioning racing once.
In his video message he says his goals have changed saying: “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 goodbye, and most importantly being able to learn from them and let them inspire me. Children are our future.”
The activist says: “Speaking of the future, I feel we live in very decisive times. And how we all shape the next years will determine all our lives. My passion comes with certain aspects that I have learned 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 can not afford to wait. There is no alternative. The race is underway.”
In an extraordinary career the German driver, currently with Aston Martin since their return to Formula One in 2021, holds several records in the sport.
Not only a four time world champion from 2010-2013 while at Red Bull he is also the youngest world champion, most consecutive race wins at 9 and race wins in a season at 13.
In Aston Martin’s return to Formula One Vettel claimed the teams first podium with a second placed finishes in the Azerbaijan and Hungarian Grand Prix but was disqualified from the Hungarian as the car could not produce the required litre of fuel.
Vettel has become more of an activist over the course of his Aston Martin career leading a litter pick after the 2021 Great British Grand Prix and wearing a pride flag on his helmet and outfit for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
In Saudi Arabia he organised an all female karting event over the weekend of the Grand Prix and when Russia invaded Ukraine he expressed an intent to boycott the Grand Prix if it went ahead.
He is also a climate change advocate supporting the need for bees, helping children at a Primary School in Austria build a hotel for bees, questioning the F1 schedule and Canada’s mining of the Alberta oil sand while accepting the ‘hypocrite’ tag.
Now that Vettel has decided his Formula One future Aston Martin will be thinking of their next move but first the Hungarian Grand Prix is to be dealt with.
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