Sebastian Vettel is dead. Not physically dead, but metaphorically so.
Vettel enjoyed a glittering career in junior motorsport and, in 2006, got his first taste of Formula One when he was selected as a test driver for BMW Sauber F1 Team. He went on to make his race debut at the United States Grand Prix after Robert Kubica suffered a massive crash at the Canadian Grand Prix. Vettel finished eighth, becoming the youngest points scorer in Formula One history at the time.
He then moved to Red Bull’s junior team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. By 2008, Vettel had secured the first of his 51 Grand Prix victories. At just 21 years and 74 days old, he became the youngest driver in F1 history to win a race after claiming victory at the Italian Grand Prix.
That meteoric rise eventually led to four consecutive world championships by 2014. When Red Bull Racing lost competitiveness, Vettel switched to Scuderia Ferrari, believing he could emulate his childhood hero Michael Schumacher by ushering in a new era of dominance. It did not go according to plan.
Vettel was in a prime position to win at least two more championship titles. Ferrari arguably had the best car in both 2017 and 2018, but mistakes — combined with the relentless brilliance of Lewis Hamilton — ended those hopes.
By 2019, Ferrari had lost its performance advantage, and Vettel could no longer compensate for the shortcomings. A series of mistakes, coupled with the arrival of Charles Leclerc, marked the beginning of the end of Vettel’s Ferrari career. Not only was he consistently outperformed by Leclerc throughout 2020, but he also made too many errors for a driver with multiple victories and championships to his name. Ferrari lost faith and eventually pushed Vettel out the door.
He then opted to join the newly rebranded Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team for 2021 — a car many described as a Mercedes W11 in all but name. Yet Vettel was out-qualified and out-raced by Lance Stroll in the opening race. The harsh truth was that his debut for Aston Martin was far from convincing. The old Sebastian still seemed to exist somewhere beneath the surface, but he no longer appeared capable of summoning that same relentless brilliance consistently.
In many ways, Vettel resembled Obi-Wan Kenobi — a vanquished Jedi Master wandering the deserts of Tatooine while waiting for one final adventure. Vettel began his Formula One career at a young age, achieved extraordinary success early in life, and may ultimately have walked away from the sport while still relatively young.
So, is Sebastian Vettel dead? Perhaps the Vettel we once knew disappeared sometime around 2015.
