Norbert Vettel, father of now-retired four-time Formula 1 Champion Sebastian Vettel, thinks his son will miss racing in top flight after hanging up his gloves in 2022.
Vettel leaves F1 after 16 seasons, over which he amassed 53 grands prix victories, 57 pole positions, and of course four F1 Drivers’ Crowns remaining the youngest ever driver to win a Title, his first being in 2010.
Vettel has come a long way since his early start, and father Norbert reflected on those days and his son’s first kart; he told F1’s official website: “He was small, so I added some material to the pedals so he could reach the throttle and the brake.
“We had to pad the seat out, too, as the seat was just too big. We marked out a track with a hairpin near where I worked. I stood at the side of the track, before the hairpin, to mark out where Sebastian needed to brake. That was the first thing he learned – braking points,” he revealed.
“Sebastian loved to drive in the wet,” added Vettel senior noting the first time his son drove the kart was under the rain.
“I asked him to come inside for lunch and to let his sister drive the kart while he was eating, but he said, ‘No, I’ll stay here.’ He wouldn’t get out. He just wanted to keep trying, keep learning. He was fascinated.”
Vettel got his F1 break in the 2007 United States Grand Prix with BMW Sauber, replacing Robert Kubica who was sideline by an accident. Vettel’s father recalls that day and spoke of it, revealing his son called him late at night asking him if he could travel to Indianapolis.
“I said okay – and I started ringing around for flights,” Norbert recalled. “I left at 6am and flew to Amsterdam. And then to Detroit. And then to Indianapolis. And I made it there late at night. It was crazy, but I made it.
“Seeing Sebastian get into his overalls, and step into the cockpit for the first time, I felt nervous. I’m always nervous, whether it’s testing, practice, qualifying or the race. I’m nervous.
“If I’m not at the track, I’m following every session, either watching the TV or listening to the radio or if I can’t get either of those, I just follow the live timing, looking at every lap Sebastian does. I’m always nervous for him. Next year, I won’t be nervous” Vettel’s father explained.
Always good in the rain
“Seb was every time good in the rain. He had such a good feel for the car, for the tyres in those conditions,” the German said of his son’s first win in F1 at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
At the time, Vettel stunned the world taking pole in the wet driving a Toro Rosso, and went on to win the race in the wet as well on Sunday, becoming the youngest driver at the time to win a race.
In 2009, he was promoted to Red Bull, and the rest was history, he secured runner up behind Jenson Button that year and then went on to win four consecutive Title between 2010 and 2013.
“This was a nice time – I was just so proud of him,” Norbert Vettel recalled. “Every father, every mother, you do everything for the children. So to watch him go from karting to world champion was incredible.”
Asked if his son will miss racing, he Norbert said: “I think yes. This is my feeling. Seb’s feeling, I do not know. When you’ve been in this hamster wheel for so many years, racing since he was eight, it’s hard to know how he will feel now he is off the wheel.
“I don’t know what he will do next year. I don’t know what I will do either. I say to Seb: thank you for all this nice time. Have a good time,” the proud father concluded.
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