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Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso,
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
,
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
, and
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One history and has won four World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to . Vettel holds the record for being the youngest World Champion in Formula One. He also has the third-most race victories () and podium finishes (), and fourth-most pole positions (). Vettel started his Formula One career as a
test driver In motorsport it is common to have one or more test drivers who work with the mechanics to help develop the vehicle by testing new systems on the track. In specific motorsports Formula One In Formula One, the term third driver is used to designa ...
for BMW Sauber in , making a one-off racing appearance in . As part of the Red Bull Junior Team, Vettel appeared for Toro Rosso later that year and was kept as a full-time driver for . Vettel was promoted to Red Bull in . With Red Bull, Vettel won four consecutive titles from to , the first of which made him the sport's youngest World Champion. In 2013, he set the record for the most consecutive race wins with nine. Vettel signed for Ferrari for replacing
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
and became
Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...
' and Lewis Hamilton's closest challenger in two title fights in and , although he finished both years as runner-up. He parted ways with Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season to race with
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
for the and seasons, before retiring from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season.


Early and personal life

Vettel was born on 3 July 1987 in Heppenheim, West Germany, to Norbert and Heike Vettel. He has one younger brother, Fabian, a racing driver, and two older sisters: Melanie, a dental technician, and Stefanie, a physiotherapist for disabled children. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was "terrible" at school, but he passed his ''
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
'' at Heppenheim's with a respectable grade. His childhood heroes were "The three Michaels": Michael Schumacher,
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
and Michael Jackson. He mentioned that he wanted to be a singer like Jackson, but realised that he did not have the voice. Vettel is also a fan of the Beatles, collecting several records, including '' Abbey Road'' and his favourite song being " Drive My Car". In an interview on '' Top Gear'', he stated that he is a fan of British comedy such as ''
Little Britain Little Britain may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little Britain'' (sketch show), a British radio and then TV show ** ''Little Britain USA'', an American spin-off * "Little Britain", a song by Dreadzone from the 1995 album '' Second Light'' ...
'' and '' Monty Python's Life of Brian''. Vettel lives in
Thurgovia Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...
, Switzerland, amongst other racing drivers and is a fan of German football team
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
. Vettel has described himself as competitive, private and impatient. He also appeared in advertisements for Head & Shoulders, and provided the voice of character Sebastian Schnell in the German version of the movie ''
Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American computer-animated Spy film, spy comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Cars (film), Cars'' (2006), the second film in the Cars (franchise), ''Cars'' f ...
''. Vettel married childhood friend Hanna Prater at a private ceremony in early 2019, and they have three children. In 2016, '' Forbes'' estimated that his annual income was $41 million.
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
, his teammate from 2015 to 2018, is a close friend. Besides his native German, Vettel speaks English, French, Finnish and Italian. In July 2022, he created his
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
account, having long eschewed social media. Vettel's first Instagram post was to announce his retirement from Formula One at the end of the 2022 season.


Early career

Vettel began
karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
at the age of three, and began racing in karts series in 1995 at the age of eight. He was accepted into the Red Bull Junior Team in 1998, and won various titles, such as the Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001. Vettel was promoted to open-wheel cars in 2003, and was given a chance by
Derrick Walker Derrick Walker (born 8 April 1945 in Leven, Scotland) is a former British auto racing team owner. In May 2013 Walker became President of operations and competition of IndyCar until the finalization of the 2015 Indycar season. Career Formula ...
to test a Reynard Motorsport Champ Car in a two-day private test at the Homestead road course. A year later, he won the 2004 Formula BMW ADAC championship with 18 victories from 20 races. Vettel drove for ASL Mücke Motorsport in the
2005 Formula 3 Euro Series The 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the third championship year of Europe's premier Formula Three series. The championship consisted of ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weekend con ...
. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 63 points and won the Rookie Cup. He tested for the
Williams Formula One Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...
team later that year as a reward for his Formula BMW success. Vettel then went on to test for the BMW Sauber Formula One team. Vettel was promoted to
test driver In motorsport it is common to have one or more test drivers who work with the mechanics to help develop the vehicle by testing new systems on the track. In specific motorsports Formula One In Formula One, the term third driver is used to designa ...
for BMW Sauber in 2006, and participated in the
2006 Formula 3 Euro Series The 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the fourth championship year of Europe’s premier Formula Three series. As in previous years, there were ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weeken ...
, finishing as runner-up. He also competed in the
2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series The 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the second Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. It began on April 29 at Zolder, Belgium and finished in Barcelona, Spain on October 29 after 17 races. Teams and drivers Calendar and race winners Eight roun ...
, where he finished first and second at Misano in his first two races. In the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying debris following an accident, and he was expected to be out for several weeks. Nevertheless, he managed to compete in the
2006 Masters of Formula 3 The 2006 BP Ultimate Masters of Formula 3 was the sixteenth Masters of Formula 3 race held at Circuit Park Zandvoort on 6 August 2006. It was won by Paul di Resta, for ART Grand Prix, ASM Formule 3. Drivers and teams Classification Race See ...
at Zandvoort the following weekend, where he finished in sixth place. Vettel competed in the
2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series The 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series was the third Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. began on 14 April 2007 in Monza, Italy and finished in Barcelona, Spain on 28 October 2007 after 17 races. Regulation Changes Technical New to the Formula Re ...
, and took his first win at the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
. He led the championship when he was called up permanently by the BMW Sauber Formula One team.


Formula One career


BMW Sauber (2006–2007)


Test driver and debut

Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the
2006 Turkish Grand Prix The 2006 Turkish Grand Prix (officially the 2006 Formula 1 Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix) was a Formula One auto racing, motor race, held on 27 August 2006. The 58-lap race, which was the fourteenth round of the 2006 Formula One season, and the ...
, when former incumbent Robert Kubica replaced Jacques Villeneuve as second driver for the
2006 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Magyar Nagydíj 2006) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 August 2006 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the 13th race of the 2006 Formula One season. Jenson Button won ...
. On his testing debut, Vettel set the fastest time in the second Friday free practice. Vettel became the then-youngest Formula One driver to participate in a Grand Prix weekend at 19 years and 53 days. He also set a record for collecting his first fine in nine seconds into his career, as Vettel exceeded the pitlane speed limit on the way to the track. In his second testing session at the
2006 Italian Grand Prix The 2006 Italian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2006) was a Formula One motor race held on 10 September 2006 at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza. It was the fifteenth race of the 2006 Formula One season, and was w ...
, he set the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions. Vettel was confirmed as BMW's test driver for . Following Kubica's crash at the
2007 Canadian Grand Prix The 2007 Canadian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada 2007) was a Formula One auto race, motor race held on 10 June 2007 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the sixth race of the 2007 FIA Formula ...
, Vettel was named his replacement at the
2007 United States Grand Prix The 2007 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2007 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, in the United States on 17 June 2007. The 73-lap race was the seven ...
. He started in seventh position and finished in eighth to become the then-youngest driver to score a point in Formula One.


Toro Rosso (2007–2008)


Youngest polesitter and first race win

BMW released him in July 2007 to join
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
's Scuderia Toro Rosso, replacing
Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One since ...
from the
2007 Hungarian Grand Prix The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Magyar Nagydíj 2007) was the eleventh race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship and was held on 5 August 2007 at the Hungaroring racing track in Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was ...
onwards, as Vettel was already under contract to Red Bull Racing. It was also announced that he would drive for Toro Rosso in alongside Sébastien Bourdais. In the rain-affected at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for his and the team's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions, forcing both cars to retire. Webber said after the race: "It's kids isn't it. Kids with not enough experience – you do a good job and then they fuck it all up". Vettel was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube