“They Put You in a Box” – Sebastian Vettel Not a Fan of the Fame That Comes With F1

Sebastian Vettel is a very rare breed of modern-day sporting superstar. In the sense that the German prefers to lead a very quiet personal life, away from the limelight and glamour of social media that most of his peers are drawn into.

The four-time World Champion is a very shy man, who prefers to be in the cockpit of an F1 car and race around the track rather than be in front of the camera and blabber about himself. In fact, Vettel doesn’t even like all the fame that comes along with success.

He sheds some light on that aspect in an episode of ‘Beyond The Grid.’ Vettel says, “The fame, I’m not a big fan of it. It comes with it, but I’m also not depending on it. I’m quite happy if people don’t recognize who I am, or more what I do. Because who I am is not what I am. For me, I differentiate between the two.”

“Many times, unfortunately, people immediately have an image of you and that’s not right. When people know what you do for a living, then they put you in a box. And I’m getting put in that box, I don’t enjoy being put in a box.”

This serves as just another classic example of why one can’t hate this man. The German is definitely one of the most down to Earth drivers on the grid, and it’s painful to see how his final season with the Scuderia is panning out.

Does Sebastian Vettel have any regrets over choosing F1 as a career?

The German says, “I don’t have any regrets. I think you always learn along the way and there’s things that you would do differently if you get the same situation again. 

“I think it’s a huge privilege, finding something that really fulfills me and I really love doing. It’s not a struggle to get up and motivate myself because I like what I do. So that’s a huge privilege.”

It certainly is a privilege to have a career one is passionate about than to work with something they don’t like doing. However, in his final season with the Scuderia, getting himself motivated might be a bit of a bigger issue considering the lackluster car at his disposal.

The German only has 17 points to his name from 11 races. Can he change his fortunes in the latter part of the season? Can the inaugural Grand Prix at Portimao on October 25 provide him with a top-six finish? Only time will tell.