Sebastian Vettel: ‘Never Said’ I Wanted to Emulate Schumacher at Ferrari

From 2000 to 2004, Scuderia Ferrari reigned supreme with Michael Schumacher. In the process, the German maestro stormed to a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th world championship. When he walked away at the end of the 2006 season, Scuderia Ferrari was never the same again, though Kimi Raikkonen grabbed the 2007 title. With the arrival of Sebastian Vettel, many fans though that he would be the next Michael Schumacher.

Unfortunately, nearly six years have passed since he joined the team in 2015. Till date, he has yet to emulate the 7-time world champion and achieve the same level of success. However, Vettel insists that he never planned to replicate Schumacher’s records.

He said, “The best driver in the entire history of motoring. Michael is still present in those who worked with him. The fans remembered that I am German too, and for me he was more of a help than a burden. But I didn’t want to repeat what he had done, I never said it and I never thought about it.”

After his dreadful Ferrari stint, can Sebastian Vettel redeem himself?

Now, Vettel is leaving the Ferrari team after the 2020 F1 season concludes. Instead, he will join the Aston Martin team, in hopes of reviving his career. For all the criticism he has received, this will be a chance for Vettel to redeem himself and revive his reputation.

Aston Martin will be a relatively new team, and will be relying on Vettel to help develop the team. Obviously, he will be foolish to think that he can challenge for a title. However, what he can do is follow the Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen route.

Personally speaking, Schumacher should not have returned from retirement. However, there is no denying that he laid down the foundation for Mercedes’ future success with Lewis Hamilton. Similarly, Raikkonen is seemingly helping out the Alfa Romeo team, and teammate Antonio Giovinazzi. Who’s to say that Sebastian Vettel will not do the same thing with Aston Martin and whoever his future teammate is.