Sebastian Vettel on his Ferrari time:
“I don’t think I will go on, having any regrets looking back. If I am fair and harsh, then I have failed. Were there reasons? Probably yes. But I don’t accept them as excuses. Whatever happened, brought me to the next step forward. I don’t regret the last years and I have learned a lot in my time with Ferrari. A different team, a different culture, got to make a lot of friends along the way. Certainly Ferrari is a special team in many ways.”
How long does the winning feeling last after a race?
Vettel: “Not long enough. Winning means less and less nowadays. I think you realize it’s more about the journey, more about what brings you there and that’s the bit you also remember. I like trophies. I think winning is giving you the ultimate confirmation what you have achieved. I am very competitive. I am a rebel, but not like crazy one. Everything I do, I consider normal but I don’t know if my normal qualifies as wild or boring. I guess I am interested in a lot of things that people consider boring, but I am also interested in things that people consider wild. When you have kids, it does change things. I don’t think it changes you down in terms of the stopwatch, it’s not like I take less risks , attacking less in the car etc. But it gives you a completely different perspective on yourself and life itself.”
Have your priorities changed?
Vettel: “For sure. Back then I had basically racing and racing and racing. Now I still have racing but I am a father aswell, 3 kids, a wife, so I have other things in life that I really got to know and got to love and wouldn’t want to miss anymore.”
Do bad races still keep you up at night?
Vettel: “Yeah, less though than they used to. With where I am in my life now, I have other things going on aswell. It‘s good, sometimes it‘s good to have distractions.”
About a race weekend off
Vettel: “The calendar is quite intense so it’s quite nice to have a weekend off. I don’t see week days and weekends, it just blends into one. With the kids, the weekends become more of a weekend like for other people. Normally it is quite relaxed. Just going for a walk, with the dogs, spending time outside. Now it’s the season, we picked some apples. The is no particular schedule, it just comes up. Stuff you can do with the kids, I go training. I pick outside rather than inside.”
When I see Mick, I see Michael.
His manners, the way he talks, his passion.
Vettel: “Absolutely. Certainly the situation as it is now is very difficult for him but I think he is coping with it in a very mature way which you wouldn’t expect from a man that is just a bit over 20”
On Mick driving the F2004 in Mugello:
Vettel: “To see him in his father‘s car, on that day, on that weekend was sort of surreal. I really like him aswell. He is just a nice young man. Knowing who his father was and knowing what his father was to me, it was very special.”
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