Sebastian Vettel has spoken candidly about the downturn in his Formula 1 form, explaining when he began to question himself as a driver. The four-time world champion, who retired at the end of the 2022 season, enjoyed a period of dominance with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, cementing his place in F1 history with four consecutive titles and numerous records.

After leaving Red Bull, Vettel joined Ferrari in the hope of matching the achievements of his childhood hero Michael Schumacher. Despite remaining a regular race winner and championship contender, his title challenges in 2017 and 2018 ultimately fell short. By 2019, his performances began to fade, and he was increasingly outshone by teammate Charles Leclerc, a trend that continued into 2020.

Vettel later moved to Aston Martin, where he showed signs of renewed confidence over two seasons, but his motivation to continue in the sport gradually diminished. He retired from Formula 1 after 2022 and has since shown little interest in a comeback, choosing instead to focus on family life.

Speaking on a sports podcast, Vettel reflected on the idea of a driver’s “peak,” suggesting it can mean different things. He believes his outright speed peaked as early as 2008 and 2009, even though he became a more well-rounded and experienced driver later in his career, and admitted that self-doubt began to surface as his performance level declined.

“Speaking of myself, I think you have to distinguish between peak performances and then peak all around. Because I think you are probably able to deliver peak performances for a much longer time than the actual lasting peak performance or consistency.”

“For sure, in Formula 1, the demands are different, and there’s more, and so on. But I think there’s nothing that speaks against being very ready very quickly. I came to Formula 1 in 2006/2007, and I would say, already by 2010, obviously, I won the championship. I was sort of at my peak. But then in ’11, I was much more ready to win the championship than I was in 2010, for example.”

“I had strong years, obviously, winning the championship, 2015 was a very strong year. 2017/2018, and then [by] ’19 and ’20, I was on my way down already, and I’m happy to say that now, because I didn’t have that really last ultimate push anymore.”

“I remember, actually, in 2018, I started the season and traveled to the first race. I really felt like I didn’t want to go. I wanted to go racing, for sure, but I didn’t want to travel,” Vettel said, as he denied having been aware of his hunger starting to ebb away from him.

“It’s like I couldn’t be bothered sitting a day in a plane again, and that was weird. Like, ‘What are you talking about?’ I said to myself, ‘You love this. Of course, I do’.”

“Then I won the first race, and then I was like, all hyped, went to the second race, ‘I’m gonna win, I’m gonna win’.”

“I won the second race, and then the season went on. It was a very, very strong season. And then in 2019, maybe it was also a time when the kids started to be old enough to phrase, ‘Daddy, don’t go.’”

“Before, I always had the looks from the dog, like he knew when the suitcase was in front of the door that I was leaving. And it was hard to say goodbye to the dog, but with kids, it was much, much harder.”

“In 2017, we started off really well. We were missing ingredients. Mercedes beat us in 2018. We were more complete. Our car was better. Our package was better. We didn’t make it. Mercedes was stronger at the end of the season, and they beat us,” he summed up.”

“2019 was a strange year, because our car was okay, and our engine was really, really good.”

“So we struggled to just make progress as a team, real progress like ‘Okay, we are closing the gap’, or ‘We are actually getting stronger in developing the car’, especially the second part of the season.”

“I really, really wanted to win the championship with Ferrari, trust me. Now, I’m cool, but I really wanted it so bad, and it didn’t happen.”

“2019 was sort of the break year, I would say, for myself, because I started to feel like ‘We’re not making it. We’re not good enough’.”

“In 2020, we’re not racing. I get this fantastic break that I never had, and enjoy it so much with the family, and, at the same time, becoming aware of the kids growing, of problems in the world and how they started to affect me, and I’m reflecting then,”

“I would say at that time I was probably not at the peak anymore, and with Aston Martin starting a new challenge, I think I was ultimately looking for this reassurance that I can still do this.”

“I think I did have peak performances, even at a later stage. But, overall peak, probably not anymore.”