Born in 1987, Sebastian Vettel was a German 4 time world champion before he retired in 2022. In 2010, at the age of 23, he became the youngest driver to win an F1 championship, also winning in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Vettel proved to have great talent when he was younger, and captured the attention of Gerhard Noack, a track owner who helped sponsor his racing career as well as Red Bull Racing, sponsoring him at the age of 12. Vettel did remarkably well in his karting career before moving his way through F3, before he made his racing debut in 2007.
Vettel made his F1 debut in 2007 with BMW Sauber team after serving as an F1 test driver for two seasons. Even though he had an excellent reputation in karting, the highest Vettel finished was fourth in his first season. His first win came with Toro Rosso at the 2008 Italian GP, making him the youngest race winner at 21 years and 2 months. With his incredible races in F1, along with his karting success, Red Bull signed him as a driver for the 2009 season. In his first season with Red Bull, Vettel finished 2nd in the championship. By his second season with the team, he became the youngest driver to win the world championship, as well as securing Red Bull’s first constructors’ championship.
Following his championship win in 2010, he dominated the 2011 season, winning 11 out of the 19 races. In the 2012 season, he narrowly won his 3rd championship with a total of 281 points, beating Fernando Alonso, who finished with 278 points. Both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber contributed to Red Bull’s second and third Constructors ‘ titles in 2011 and 2012. Vettel’s dominance continued into 2013, winning 10 out of the first 16 races, securing his fourth consecutive championship with a month still remaining in the season. He became the first driver in F1 history to win nine consecutive races in a season, before Max Verstappen broke the record in 2023 with 10 consecutive wins in a season. Vettel’s streak ended in 2014, finishing in fifth place in the championship. Late in the season, he also announced he would be leaving Red Bull and joining Ferrari at the start of the 2015 season.
Vettel’s time with Ferrari did not go as well as it did at Red Bull. His first two seasons went well with Ferrari, finishing third in 2015 and fourth in 2016. In both 2017 and 2018, he accumulated a few more wins, but finished both seasons in second place behind Lewis Hamilton. However, his career in 2019 and 2020 took a turn. He only won a single race in 2019 and none in 2020, before he eventually announced that he would be parting ways and signing with Aston Martin in 2021. However, despite Aston Martin having one of the strongest engines in F1, Aston Martin finished at the bottom of the constructors’ standings in both 2021 and 2022. Vettel’s results reflected the team’s results, with only one podium and finishing in 12th place both seasons. In the middle of the 2022 season, Vettel announced that he would be retiring from Formula 1 to spend more time with his family and pursue other interests.