When Sebastian Vettel (35) wakes up on Monday morning, he is an astronaut. He’s in a rocket. And waits, waits, waits. He’s waiting for the boost. He picks up. He flies. He doesn’t know the route. He only knows: I leave my (Formula 1) world and fly. into the unknown.
Nothing is known regarding his mission. The four-time world champion doesn’t know where he’ll end up: “I don’t have any concrete plans. I won’t just hang out on the couch. I’ll find something to do.” It will orientate itself and find a new orbit. Now he wants to take off first.
Get out of the world in which he is constantly accused of double standards. Between the environment and a 1000 hp runregarding. Between bees and gasoline.
Sebastian Vettel is a self-confessed green man. Will he become a climate glue following his career? Activists from the group “Last Generation” had repeatedly blocked German motorway exits and street crossings in the past few weeks. They call for more measures to combat climate change, such as a speed limit on freeways and cheap local transport.
Will you see Vettel next to you in the future? Probably not. Environmental activists don’t fully see the Formula 1 driver as one of their own. Because: He hangs on the asphalt, loves speed. But he probably wouldn’t stick to it.
His racing team has been officially called the “Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team” since February. Aramco is the largest oil company in the world. And in the paddock? There it is whispered that Vettel, with his constant criticism of the sport, is betraying the racing series that has made him famous and, above all, rich (estimated fortune 350 million euros).
A condition that might be compensated for by success. But the James Bond team – like Vettel – is lagging behind expectations. The mood is bad, the employees are scared. The staff is constantly exchanged. His team never calmed down. Owner and fashion billionaire (Hilfiger) Lawrence Stroll wanted to buy the success. good engineers. clever minds. Smart technicians.
But you can’t buy team spirit. No camaraderie. This is exactly the soul food that Sebastian Vettel needs. (That was also the case with his role model Schumi). This security, a kind of “we are family” he had at Red Bull. Not to this extent at Ferrari. And with his last team, only his kit matched his alignment… That sure made his decision a little easier.
So astronaut Sebastian Vettel completely detached from (motorsport) earth…?
Nobody really believes in that at the moment. Certainly not him either. Looking back is too tempting. The gasoline is still pounding in your veins too loudly. Only chickens instead of braking points? Just bees instead of 5G curves? Just homework instead of downforce? At first certainly. But then…when the new season starts…does he watch the first race? Father Norbert Vettel is skeptical. “I don’t know how he reacts. He probably doesn’t know either. He’s like me. A new life is beginning for me, just like for him. I watched every practice, every qualifying, every race. suffered with. Happy with me. It doesn’t matter at three in the morning or at ten in the evening, I was always in front of the television.”
Nobody around him believes that Sebastian Vettel will finally switch off the engine 32 years following his first kart ride. Bets are already on. For example between him and his sponsor Gerhard Noack (70). He says: “I can’t imagine that Sebastian can do without motorsport completely. Sure, the area of his interests is broader now, but I think he’ll be returning to motorsport following a couple of years. In whatever capacity. The boy has petrol in his blood.”
In a survey by Formula 1, who might most likely be the team boss of the current pilots, several drivers said as fast as they usually race their cars over the asphalt: “Vettel”. Even his father, who knows him better than anyone else, shrugs his shoulders: “I’m excited. Hopefully there won’t be a relapse…”
In the familiar small circle, the four-time champion expresses his thoughts on sports politics. He’s got the brains. Ambition too. He cares a lot regarding the environment. He has already moved a lot with his actions and statements. Unforgettable are the pictures of how he collected plastic bottles in the grandstand following the race at Silverstone. Even the disposable plastic Americans didn’t have any plastic anywhere during the Miami race. Thanks Vettel.
Sebastian Vettel can be proud. on his way. to his successes. For his straightness. To his transformation. We all see the always smiling honey cake rascal face in Red Bull times. We see the desperate and unsatisfied title-hunting face at Ferrari. And we finally see his often thoughtful expression. It seemed as if his hair was growing in step with his worrying thoughts regarding the future of this planet. It must be wild thoughts.
And it will be a disturbing farewell to his old world.
But then his family is waiting for him. Its old, renovated mill. With solar on the roof. Without air conditioning. The virtual space suit. The silence. the boost. The flight into the unknown. But never out of control. He knows: There is a lot to do on the new orbit. He will find her. His Houston is his family. And always will be.
