Sebastian Vettel has revealed how he intends to keep hold of his "most meaningful legacy" by staying in touch with certain members of the F1 paddock when he retires. Vettel announced ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that he will be walking away from the sport at the end of the 2022 season after 15 years at the top level. He has four World Championship titles and 53 race wins to his name, having achieved most of his success with Red Bull in the early 2010s. BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Ferrari and current team Aston Martin are the other outfits Vettel has represented over the years.
Vettel keen to keep his F1 friendships
Asked to reflect on the legacy he has created during his time in the sport, Vettel highlighted the many people he has met and the friendships he has made. He also made reference to Lewis Hamilton, who recently stated that "it's been an honour to call you a competitor and an even greater honour to call you my friend". "I had a similar question, 'What do you keep?', and I said, 'I will keep a lot of silverware!'" Vettel told media, including RacingNews365.com . "But I think more than that is really the memories, the emotions, the highs and the lows, the people that I've met. "Lewis is obviously one of the central figures in the last years, [one of] the friends I made, and that stays. It would be a much harder decision [to retire] if you give up all of that and you lose all these people. "Obviously, I will not see them as regularly as now and it will be very different, but it's the friendships, the people, and the relationships that stay. "That's probably the biggest one that I'm looking forward to keeping, and the most meaningful legacy."
Vettel on moving over for the "new kids on the block"
As for his achievements in F1, Vettel admits "we all have our time" and praised the new wave of talents making their mark. He added: "I think we all have a limit. Obviously, if you achieve more then it's a little bit further, you're pushing that a little bit further. "But I think it's good; there are new kids on the block and they're doing great. The time today and tomorrow belongs to them, so that's just how it goes. "We all have our time and I think, most importantly, we make the most of it and we enjoy it, and then move on and make room for the next ones."
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