Current Affairs

Last Sunday saw Sebastian Vettel turn the lap of his final race for Ferrari at Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a sombre sound. The German finished 14th, one place behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc, to conclude his worst season with the Italian team.

“Nothing about today should get mentioned,” he said when asked to sum up his feelings after six years as a Ferrari driver. “It was quite a bad race for us. We tried everything.”

Before the race, the team gave Vettel a guard of honour as he walked to his car from the garage to the pit lane. His teammate Leclerc wore a helmet designed mainly in white – a sign of respect towards the German driver’s traditional livery – with a red stripe on top for the flag of Monaco next to a message: ‘Danke Seb’ (Thanks Seb).

On his final lap, slowing down around the Yas Marina Circuit, he surprised many by singing an Italian song about Ferrari on the team radio system that was broadcasted around the world.

Although he didn’t win, his team presented him with an enormous trophy. They had won 14 races together and that time with him is not so easily forgotten. “For sure, it was an emotional day with the mechanics waving goodbye on the grid,” he said.

“I felt there was a different dynamic. I am sad for the guys. I will miss them, but I’m happy to embark on a new journey.”

“Before I called him, I repeated mentally three times what I should tell him and how,” said Team Chief Mattia Binotto. “The choice about Seb was not easy because we love him for what he has been, for the way he behaved and for what he has given the team.”

Not all is sad as Vettel is set to venture on joining Racing Point next season when they are re-branded as Aston Martin. He replaces the departing Mexican Sergio Perez who will be stepping into Alexander Albon’s shoes at Red Bull for the next season in 2021.

Source: AFP Relax News