At the age of 35, legendary Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel made the decision to retire from the sport at the end of last season.
The German won four world championships with Red Bull before less successful spells with Ferrari and Aston Martin, leaving fans of the sport begging him to at least stay around motorsport rather than walking away.
Unfortunately, Vettel has insisted that he will follow through with his plan to leave F1 for good, claiming that there are many other things in life that interest him that he would like to be able to focus 100 percent of his energy into.
The 35-year-old was rolling back the years towards the end of 2022, winning a number of ‘Driver of the Day’ awards and performing a breath-taking overtake on Haas’ Kevin Magnussen on the final lap of the US Grand Prix in Austin.
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While Vettel has confirmed that he currently has no intentions to return to Formula 1 in the future, he has admitted that he will miss certain elements of the sport as he pursues other avenues of life.
“I’m sad to not have the adrenaline rush anymore,” he told the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“Sad to not have the competition, that feeling to push myself, the car, the elements to the limit.
“But I’m looking forward to what’s next. I think there’s so much to learn. There are plenty of things that I’m interested in and I would love to give room.
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“At the minute, I’m just trying to keep an empty schedule because I don’t want to commit to anything. I want to let that side of me come out and I’m curious to learn about myself.”
Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko has recently told the media that in a recent conversation with his former driver, Vettel suggested that he would be open to a return to the team in the future, should an opportunity in management arise.
The Austrian joked that he would allow Vettel to “plant a few trees” before trying to tempt him back to Formula 1 but has said that he believes the 35-year-old would be very well suited to a career in management.