What goes up must come down. And that statement works on multiple levels. Just think of the Roman Empire. It lasted for over 1,000 years, and at one point it covered an area of 1.9 million square miles (5 million square km). That's half the size of the United States of America. But it didn't last forever. If you want to sum it up in just one phrase, you could just say that: entropy cannot be reversed.
But we aren't here to talk about the laws of physics. Instead, we are witnessing its effects on the world we live in. Today, one of the most successful Formula 1 drivers in the past two decades has officially announced that he is retiring from the sport: Sebastian Vettel.
We all knew that this moment would come, but no one was certain when it would happen. It was just last year that another legendary driver did the same thing, and fans across the world were sad to hear that Kimi Raikkonen would no longer race in the World Championship.
In total, the Finnish driver had spent 19 years racing F1 cars. He had two stints, one between 2001 to 2009 and one between 2012 and 2021. But keeping up with the young drivers on the block isn't that easy when you're over 40 years old.
The intensity of F1 is similar to that in MotoGP. And in both cases, by the time you hit 35 or less, it's all downhill from there. Looking at the current line-up in the sport, you'll notice that there are still a few veterans on the list. One of them is Fernando Alonso, who has been in the game almost every year since 2001.
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
By comparison, Lewis Hamilton has only been around since 2007. And the same goes for Sebastian Vettel. The 35-year-old German driver made his F1 debut with BMW Sauber at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. The race took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 17th of June.
He managed to qualify in P7 and finished the race in P8. It didn't take long before he was promoted to Scuderia Toro Rosso. He would soon deliver his best career performance yet, by taking P4 at the Chinese Grand Prix losing to drivers like Raikkonen, Alonso, and Massa.
Vettel had a pretty slow start of the season in 2008, having to retire in the first four races. But he would reveal his true colors in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza: he qualified P1 and won the race after 53 laps fighting against much more experienced drivers.
Moving to Red Bull Racing in 2009 had a positive effect on his performance, as he secured four victories and an additional four podiums to finish the championship in second place overall. What happened next was similar to what we've seen with other drivers like Michael Schumacher before.
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
Sebastian Vettel dominated the final years of the F1 V8 era, being crowned World Champion in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013! Fernando Alonso was his most fierce rival in three of those seasons. The gap between the two was only 4 points in 2010 and 3 points in 2012!
Talk about a close call! In 2014 Vettel finished the season in P5 and that would be his last season with Red Bull Racing. Moving to Scuderia Ferrari must have been a lifelong dream come true, but sadly it wouldn't lead to the desired outcome.
He finished third overall in the first year with the Italian squad and came close to another World Title in 2017 and 2018 when he was vice champion. 2019 would mark the start of his downfall and his last F1 GP victory so far.
His contract with Ferrari came to an end after six years, and he became an official driver for Aston Martin. His best result with the new team also marks his only podium with them so far. Back at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he finished in second place, right behind Sergio Perez.
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team
Ever since his debut, Sebastian Vettel has started in just under 300 GPs and he has won 53 of them. His official retirement announcement today has sparked a global reaction from F1 fans, as his newly created Instagram has already reached 1 million followers in less than 24 hours.
He still has 10 more races to go before hanging up the gloves, and it feels like everyone would love to see him on the podium one last time before he moves on to another chapter of his life. The sheer amount of comments on his Instagram video is no doubt a result of his well-deserved status as one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time. We wish him all the best and now it's time to see who will be replacing him next year.
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News