Sebastian Vettel says he decided to sing at the end of his final F1 race with Ferrari to express his gratitude to the team as he switches to Aston Martin for 2021.
After six years with Ferrari, Sunday’s race at the Yas Marina Circuit was Vettel’s final outing for the team. After crossing the line in 14th place, Vettel decided to sing Azzurro by Adriano Celentano, a famous Italian song.
He has made a habit of singing over the team radio, often breaking into song after taking race victories for the Italian team over the years.
Vettel was also handed a large trophy as the end of year photographs were taken in front of the Ferrari garage.
“Obviously, I’ve had a lot of highs with the whole team,” Vettel said. “Every time I was really excited for some reason I started to sing and I think it was a nice way for one last time to sing again and obviously the song that I leaned on is a very, very popular Italian song. Azzurro by Adriano Celentano. I changed the lyrics so I hope I don’t get in trouble with copyright.
“I think it was a good way to express gratitude for the team. The trophy – I was surprised myself. I’ve never finished P14 before and got a trophy. It definitely will be a nice memory. There was a sign on the front with all the wins. This year has been a poor reflection of the great time I’ve had with the team.”
Vettel’s race in Abu Dhabi was compromised by an early Safety Car but he managed to keep a host of faster cars behind him for much of the first stint.
Reflecting on his final outing for the Scuderia, he added: “Nothing about today that should get mentioned. I think it was quite a poor race from us. I enjoyed it, especially the beginning, a lot of fights.
“The Safety Car obviously hurt us when we were most vulnerable with the hard tyres to stay out long. We tried everything. For sure it was an emotional day with the mechanics waving goodbye on the grid. I felt there was a different dynamic and tension there. I am sad for the guys, I will miss them but also obviously happy to embark on a new journey.”
Charles Leclerc didn’t fare much better and classified one place ahead in 13th, benefitting from an earlier pit stop to get ahead of his teammate.
“I don’t know where we were at the Safety Car, probably P13 or P12, Leclerc said. “If we would have come in, we would have came out in the same position and wouldn’t have overtaken. At the end, it wouldn’t have changed much. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace today. It’s a shame to finish the season like this. It’s been a very very difficult season but I am looking forward to next year to see whether we did some steps in the right direction.
“It’s been great to have Seb on the other side of the garage for two years. He’s an amazing person, an amazing driver too and he pushed me to perform better and to improve.”
Leave a Reply