“I told him, I think that you got this a bit early”: Mark Webber wasn’t convinced with Sebastian Vettel deciding to retire

Tanish Chachra | 06/01/2023
"I told him, I think that you got this a bit early": Mark Webber wasn't convinced with Sebastian Vettel deciding to retire

Sebastian Vettel ended his career at the end of the 2022 season. Ending his 15-year-long career after winning four world titles and 53 Grand Prix wins. Vettel is only 35, while much older drivers continue in the sport.

It’s not like he was driving poorly. Even Aston Martin boss Mike Krack was keen on continuing with Vettel for the following years. Alas, the German race driver decided to go away.

Was it too early for him to leave the sport? Probably. But he has reasoned that he can’t be an environmental activist and drive F1 cars simultaneously.  Moreover, he wishes to be with his family after spending so many years in F1’s hectic schedule.

Also read: Ferrari ace once lied about knowing how to ski so he wouldn’t get left behind

Mark Webber thinks it’s too early for Sebastian Vettel to go

For over five years, Vettel and Mark Webber were teammates. While Webber was in the last phase of his F1 career, Vettel was just getting started. Seeing the German national grow all these years, Webber thinks it’s not the right time for him to go.

“He got the timing bang on, I think. Maybe a sneak early. I think he still drives very, very well. I told him, ‘I think that you got this a bit early’, so we’ve had a bit of a laugh about that,” said Webber.

Webber further lauds the achievements of Vettel. He thinks he is the juggernaut of F1, and the presence of his former teammate on the grid will be missed.

He has talked about his return

Vettel has given all the years to motorsport he can think of. Thus, it can’t be directly uprooted from his life. While he claims he wants to be around his family and do nothing else, he hasn’t dismissed the idea of an F1 return.

However, he is unlikely to return in a driver’s role. Maybe, he can join a team in an advisory role. Red Bull is one of the favourite destinations. Helmut Marko says he isn’t getting younger, so someone like Vettel would be very suitable as his replacement.

Vettel has also talked about this kind of return in F1. He says it would be odd to be on the paddock but not walk out to sit in one of the cars lined up on the track.

Definitely, fans would be struck by nostalgia when they see Vettel in one of the garages, be it Ferrari, Red Bull or Aston Martin, and he is not there to compete.

Also read: Mika Hakkinen reminisces karting duels with Michael Schumacher after a video reappears online

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Mark Webber Red Bull Sebastian Vettel

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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