“Lewis and Mercedes as a Package…”: 4x World Champ Sebastian Vettel Reflects on the Tumultuous Stint With Ferrari As He Bids Farewell to F1

One of Formula 1’s titans, Sebastian Vettel, recently opened up on his Ferrari days. The man who needs no introduction in F1 revealed how he spent the days on the Italian team, fighting his prime competitor, Lewis Hamilton. As Vettel emphasized how Hamilton and Mercedes were better, he has no regrets about the decision to join the Maranello-based team.

In a recent interview for F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast, the current Aston Martin driver gave insights on his Ferrari days as he went up against Hamilton, “In terms of numbers and statistics I failed because my target was to win the World Championship and I didn’t. Ultimately, Lewis [Hamilton] and Mercedes as a package were strong for us and we didn’t beat them.”

The former Red Bull driver felt Hamilton and Mercedes were too strong and fast for them to compete against and he’s at peace with how things have turned out.

The German further stated, “The more time passes, the more I’m in peace with it. If that makes sense. Living through the moment we’ve done great things and we’ve done things that weren’t great.”

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“In the end, like I said, there was somebody out there that was just better at the time and deserved to win, so we came second a couple of times but no regrets,” concluded the four-time world champion. Vettel left the Italian team to join Aston Martin in 2021.

Sebastian Vettel looking back at his Ferrari days

After four back-to-back successful years at Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, Sebastian Vettel decided to join Ferrari. The German driver joined the Italian stable in 2015 and stayed with them until he had to move out to make way for Carlos Sainz ahead of the 2021 F1 season.

When asked about his days at Ferrari, the 35-year-old driver stated, “I had a lot of fun. I think I have a very long emotional connection to Italy and the people of Italy and Ferrari as a brand, so it was a privilege to race for Ferrari, and we had great moments together.”

Vettel spent six years with the Italian team and during his time he picked up 14 race wins and multiple podiums as well as pole positions. Even though he failed to pick up any driver’s championship with the Reds, he came quite close in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

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Despite that, Vettel will always be one of Ferrari’s legendary drivers. The man who’s due to leave the sport at the end of this season will always be missed by everyone who loves the sport.