Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and remains the youngest-ever World Drivers' Champion; he won 53 Grands Prix across 16 seasons.

Born and raised in Heppenheim, Vettel began competitive kart racing aged eight. After a successful karting career—culminating in his victory at the junior direct-drive Karting European Championship in 2001—Vettel graduated to junior formulae. He started his career in Formula BMW ADAC, dominating the championship in 2004 with 18 wins from 20 races. Vettel then progressed to the Formula 3 Euro Series in 2005, taking several victories and finishing runner-up to Paul di Resta the following season. A test driver for BMW Sauber since , Vettel made his Formula One debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. Vettel replaced Scott Speed at Toro Rosso after the for the remainder of the season, as part of the Red Bull Junior Team. Retaining his seat for , Vettel achieved his maiden pole position and victory at the to become the then-youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Vettel was promoted to parent team Red Bull in , taking several wins as he finished runner-up to Jenson Button in the World Drivers' Championship.

After winning the title-deciding in , Vettel became the youngest-ever Formula One World Drivers' Champion, aged 23. Vettel won his second and third championships in and , dominating the former and winning the latter amidst a close title battle with Fernando Alonso. Vettel set several records in , winning 13 Grands Prix—including a then-record nine consecutive victories—to claim his fourth consecutive title with Red Bull. After a winless campaign, Vettel signed for Ferrari, replacing Alonso to partner Kimi Räikkönen; he took several wins in his debut season, finishing third in the standings. Following another winless season in , Vettel emerged as the closest challenger to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, finishing runner-up in and after achieving several victories across both campaigns. Partnered by Charles Leclerc for , Vettel took the final win of his career at the before leaving Ferrari at the end of the season. Vettel joined the recently established Aston Martin in , where he scored his final podium finish at the .

Vettel retired at the end of the season, having achieved the fourth-most wins (53), fourth-most pole positions (57), fifth-most fastest laps (38), and third-most podium finishes (122) in Formula One. Vettel won the Race of Champions in 2015, further winning the Nations' Cup six consecutive times from 2007 to 2012 alongside Michael Schumacher, representing Germany. He is also a prominent environmental and climate activist; since 2023, he has been co-owner of the Germany SailGP Team.

Early 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 children with disabilities. Vettel suggested in an interview that he was "terrible" at school, but he passed his ''Abitur'' at Heppenheim's with a respectable grade. His childhood heroes were "The three Michaels": Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan 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'' and ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''.

Junior racing career

Karting

Vettel began karting 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.

Lower formulae

Formula BMW

Vettel was promoted to open-wheel cars in 2003, and was given a chance by Derrick Walker to test a Reynard Motorsport Champ Car in a two-day private test at the Homestead–Miami Speedway. A year later, he won the 2004 Formula BMW ADAC championship with 18 victories from 20 races.

Formula Three and Formula Renault

Vettel drove for ASL Mücke Motorsport in the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 63 points and won the Rookie Cup. He tested for the Williams Formula One 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 for BMW Sauber in 2006, and participated in the 2006 Formula 3 Euro Series, finishing as runner-up. He also competed in the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, 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 at Zandvoort the following weekend, where he finished in sixth place.

Vettel competed in the 2007 Formula Renault 3.5 Series, and took his first win at the Nürburgring. He led the championship when he was called up permanently by the BMW Sauber Formula One team.

Formula One career

BMW Sauber (2006–2007)

2006: Test driver

Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica replaced Jacques Villeneuve as second driver for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. 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, he set the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions.

2007: Debut

Vettel was confirmed as BMW's test driver for . Following Kubica's crash at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel was named his replacement at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. 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)

2007–2008: Maiden race win and rise to prominence

BMW released him in July 2007 to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso, replacing Scott Speed from the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix 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