Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is set to retire from F1 at the end of this season
Sebastian Vettel continues to reach new milestones even in the final season of his Formula one career. The Aston Martin driver was in lead during two laps at the US Grand Prix and that means he’s now surpassed the incredible tally of 3,500 laps in charge in his career. Vettel is now part of an exclusive list comprising Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher – the only three drivers to have led in over 3500 laps in F1.
Seven-time F1 world champions Lewis Hamilton (5,432) and Michael Schumacher (5,111) are the only two drivers ahead of Sebastian Vettel (3,501) in this list. The top three are much ahead of the rest of the pack who are yet to even breach the 3000 mark. Ayrton Senna (2,987) and Alain Prost (2,684) complete the top five of this list. Hamilton and Vettel are the only active F1 drivers in the top five of this exclusive list.
Sebastian Vettel is a true icon of Formula One. The German has been crowned the F1 World Champion four times to go with his stellar record of 53 race wins. However, Vettel is well past his prime and is set to retire at the end of this season.
Vettel has earlier announced that he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season. The 35-year-old German, who spent six seasons with Ferrari after joining the Italian team in 2015, will see out the rest of his final campaign with Aston Martin. Vettel is currently third on the list of all-time Grand Prix winners with 53 victories, trailing only Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
“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 mid-way through the season in a video posted on Instagram.
After making his debut in 2007, Vettel has achieved remarkable feats in F1 and has certainly established himself as an all-time legend of the sport.
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