Sebastian Vettel to retire from F1: Decoding his career stats
What's the story
Sebastian Vettel has announced that he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of 2022 season. The 35-year-old German, who spent six seasons with Ferrari after joining the F1 giants in 2015, will see out the remainder of his final campaign with Aston Martin. He is currently third on the list of all-time Grand Prix winners with 53 victories. We decode his stats.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Vettel will fondly be remembered as a champion performer in F1's history. He went on to win four consecutive titles for Red Bull between 2010 and 2013. Notably, the first title made him the sport's youngest winner. He had a mixed time with Ferrari, not quite being able to match Mercedes' strengths. He will be keen to finish strongly this season with Aston Martin.
Retirement
'The decision to retire has been a difficult one'
"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, who confirmed his retirement in a video posted on Instagram. He also added that he wants to spend more time with his family and will focus on what's next.
Records
Vettel owns these records in F1
Vettel has won 53 races in his career. He is only behind Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91) in terms of wins. Vettel also shares the record of clocking most race wins in a calendar year with Schumacher (13). Vettel won 13 out of the 19 races in 2013 with Red Bull. Schumacher won 13 races out of 18 with Ferrari in 2004.
Wins
Vettel owns the record of most consecutive wins
Vettel owns the record of clocking most consecutive race wins. He won nine successive races in 2013 with Red Bull. The wins came in Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Korea, Japan, India, Abu Dhabi, United States, and Brazil. Alberto Ascari won 7 consecutive races between 1952-53. Michael Schumacher did it in 2004 and Nico Rosberg followed suit in 2015-16 with Mercedes.
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Second-youngest race winner in F1
Sebastian also held the record as the youngest F1 winner at 21 years and 73 days when he emerged victorious at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. The record was eclipsed by Max Verstappen, who won the 2016 Spanish GP at 18 years and 228 days.
Poles
Fourth-highest number of pole positions
Vettel is ranked fourth in terms of securing the most pole positions in F1 with 57. Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton has the most pole positions (103). He is followed by Schumacher (68), and Ayrton Senna (65). Vettel has the second-highest number in terms of consecutive pole positions at the Japanese Grand Prix (4). He is only behind Schumacher (5).
Podiums
Third-highest number of podium finishes
Vettel is ranked third in terms of most podium finishes (122). He is only behind Hamilton (187) and Schumacher (155). Vettel has the joint-second highest podium finishes in a single year (17 in 2011). He ranks fourth in terms of most consecutive podiums (11) after Schumacher (19), Hamilton (16), and Fernando Alonso (15). He is the 4th-youngest to score a podium finish.
Feats
Notable feats attained by Vettel
Vettel holds the record for most pole positions in a season (15 in 2011). He is still the youngest polesitter, aged 21 years and 72 days (2008 Italian GP). Vettel has clocked 38 fastest laps which is the fifth-highest after Schumacher (77), Hamilton (60), Kimi Raikkonen (46), and Alain Prost (41). He is the 8th-youngest to set the fastest lap (21 years, 353 days).
Numbers
Vettel has attained these crunch feats as well
In 2013, Vettel clocked 397 points to win the title. It's the third-highest in terms of most championship points in a season after Hamilton (413 in 2019 and 408 in 2018). Vettel has finished 245 career races (fourth-highest). He has 31 wins from pole positions (3rd-highest). He shares the record with Nigel Mansell in terms of most wins from pole positions in a season (9).
Titles
Four F1 title wins for Vettel
Vettel won four titles between 2010 to 2013. He shares the record of four titles won alongside Prost, who won in 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1993. Schumacher and Hamilton have seven titles each. Juan Manuel Fangio has five titles. At 23 years and 134 days, Vettel is still the youngest World Drivers' Championship first-time winner.