Sebastian Vettel has announced he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.
The Aston Martin driver revealed his decision in a social media post ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
“The decision to retire has been a difficult one for me to take and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it,” said Vettel in a statement subsequently released by his team. “At the end of the year I want to take some more time to reflect on what I will focus on next.
“It is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family. But today is not about saying goodbye. Rather, it is about saying thank you – to everyone – not least to the fans, without whose passionate support Formula 1 could not exist.”
Vettel made his F1 debut in 2007. He joined Red Bull in 2009 and the following year won the first of his four consecutive world championship titles. He moved to Ferrari in 2015 and won 14 more races for the Scuderia. However his pursuit of a fifth world championship title ultimately proved unsuccessful.
After leaving the team he joined Aston Martin at the beginning of last year. Vettel said he’d “had the privilege of working with many fantastic people in Formula 1 over the past 15 years [and] there are far too many to mention and thank.
“Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 Team driver and, although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come.
“I have really enjoyed working with such a great bunch of people. Everyone – Lawrence, Lance, Martin, Mike, the senior managers, the engineers, the mechanics and the rest of the team – is ambitious, capable, expert, committed and friendly, and I wish them all well. I hope that the work I did last year and am continuing to do this year will be helpful in the development of a team that will win in the future, and I will work as hard as I can between now and the end of the year with that goal in mind, giving as always my best in the last 10 races.”
This article will be updated.
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix
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