With Sebastian Vettel having officially joined the retired drivers club, the four-time World Champion has revealed his delight and intrigue at having “no commitments” going forward, something he perhaps hasn’t had for his entire life.
Even prior to his 16-year career in Formula 1, the 35-year-old’s time would’ve still been committed to racing, having competed in several junior championships before receiving his F1 promotion in 2008.
Given his wealth of success in the sport, it appears to have certainly been time spent wisely, given that he claimed four consecutive world titles and achieved 53 Grand Prix victories, putting him third on the all-time list for most wins.
Whilst he will be remembered for having been an incredible driver, he will be remembered in equal measure for being a remarkable person, one who always stood for what is right.
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Many drivers over the years have hid in the shadows when asked for their thoughts on a political matter, something that still happens today.
Many continue to give the typical scripted response, whereas Vettel says it how it is.
The German has become respected for demanding action over certain topics in Formula 1, with the former Aston Martin driver having used his voice and platform to support various campaigns and communities.
Over the last few years, he has famously demonstrated his support for the LGBTQ community, by wearing either a rainbow-themed helmet or t-shirt.
This came in response to same sex marriage still being illegal in the vast majority of the Middle East, something Lewis Hamilton also acted out on with a rainbow-themed helmet.
Vettel is hopeful that young drivers will become more comfortable going forward with using their voice for good, something he has been a role model for.
However, given his retirement, Vettel won’t be able to continue wearing themed helmets or call-out certain places for their political issues, meaning a different approach is needed.
The German admits this is something he needs to “figure” out, but that he has “lots of ideas”.
“Obviously, my views will not be retired and abandoned,” said Vettel.
“But in which form [I continue], I have to figure it out.
“I’m very much looking forward to having nothing scheduled and no commitments.
“What that does to me? It will do a lot of things to my head and to the dynamics. But I’m curious to find out what exactly that will be.
“No commitments, nothing that I signed up for, and I have to do, sort of thing.
“But I have lots of ideas and things I would love to do, but they are not like thick commitments.”
Staggeringly, Vettel wore 18 different helmets in 2022, with the vast majority having been in support of a community or campaign, such as climate change.
It’s not just him, though, wearing helmets in support of something, with Vettel being aware that there is a “lot of people” demonstrating their commitment to “raise awareness”.
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“The more I look, and the more I get into all of this, there’s a lot of people that are doing great things,” the German added.
“It’s great to raise awareness here, and then spread a seed and just make people look at what’s going on, and help to understand.
“I think once you understand, you start to care, and once you care, you’re happy to help.”