Neither Lewis Hamilton nor Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel Once Revealed the “Biggest Natural Talent” in F1

In his long and glorious F1 career, Sebastian Vettel raced with and against the best of the best. Among them were both 7-time world champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. With Hamilton, he even shared one of the best modern-era F1 rivalries, but when it came to picking the best natural talent in the biz, the German had a different driver in mind. Vettel picked his former Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

The Prancing Horse duo were among the best bromance tales in F1, often challenging each other for a game of badminton. Such was the camaraderie between the two that once when Seb was asked about who he would pick as his baker buddy, Vettel chose Kimi. And when it came to racing pedigree, Vettel kept the Finnish driver in very high regard.

Speaking on Beyond the Grid podcast last year, Sebastian Vettel said, “I think Kimi is actually the biggest natural talent I’ve come across ever. Just in terms of raw speed, and it shows in the car, obviously, but it shows also in any other form of car. If there was a discipline of switching cars, Kimi would be lapping everybody else. He’s just a natural. He doesn’t take time to adapt to the car, to what the car requires. You give him a steering wheel and he knows what to do. Sometimes you feel it’s unfair, you need to get used to it first, and get an idea of the track or the conditions and for him, it’s just boom.”

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As was expected of him, Kimi almost disappeared from the public eye after his retirement from F1. His wife Minttu, however, gave an insight into his life since he hung up his helmet.

What is Kimi Raikkonen up to these days?

Raikkonen was never a fan of media attention, and that was evident from his interviews and press conference appearances. The Ice Man hardly ever gave an answer that went on for more than a sentence and as we all know, he likes to be left alone. His wife appeared for an interview with Seura in October last year and revealed how their life was since Kimi bid F1 goodbye.

She said, “We do quite a lot of things together, as we have always done before when he has been at home. For example, we often go to sports together. It hasn’t changed.” [Translated using Google]

Minttu also told about their son Robin’s interest in karting and biking, and how Kimi has assumed the role of mentor for him. “At the moment, Robin really likes it, but he can still change his mind. He also drives a microcar and a moped. Fortunately, Robin listens very carefully to how Kimi advises him and I am confident, although of course there are also many other drivers.”

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Do you agree with Seb’s assessment? Which driver do you consider the most naturally talented? Do let us know in the comments.