Sebastian Vettel made his F1 debut in 2006 at the age of just 19, realizing a lifelong dream of being a competitor at the highest level. He worked all his life toward achieving that goal and a part of it included training his body for it.
F1 cars are some of the fastest vehicles in the world and drivers need to have a very strong neck for them to deal with the G-force when the car is turning at speeds in excess of 150kmph. For that, the drivers use a neck training device, which provides a grueling exercise for drivers. Now that Vettel is retiring from F1, he’s happy that he won’t have to use that machine anymore.
Vettel: I’ve had this machine since I was 17 and at the time I never expected to make it this far. To motivate myself, I wrote on the machine, “100 percent push!” Now I’ll never have a reason to get in that machine again, and I’ve hated it for years, too.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) November 19, 2022
In an interview leading up to the Abu Dhabi GP, Vettel revealed that he had his device with him since he was 17 years old. With his retirement approaching, he never has to use it again and he’s glad about it.
“To motivate myself, I wrote on the machine, “100 percent push!” the 35-year-old said. “Now I’ll never have a reason to get in that machine again, and I’ve hated it for years, too.”
Sebastian Vettel had second thoughts about retiring after Japanese GP
Suzuka is a track that Vettel absolutely loves. He has stated this several times throughout the course of his career and earlier this year, his outing in Japan more special than ever. He took to the iconic circuit one last time and admitted how it made him feel alive.
Vettel stated that there was a moment when he felt sad about choosing to retire, but now he has come to terms with it. “I had a wistful moment in Japan,” the former Red Bull driver said. “When I got out of the car there, I felt alive. I just love this track and I have this feeling of adrenaline especially there.”
“Arigato” 🥰
Seb receives some special farewell gifts at his final Suzuka weekend 🥺#JapaneseGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/bAbfzBdthL
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 7, 2022
“At that moment I was sad. But I’m fine with my decision. I’ve made the decision myself that I want to quit.”
Vettel dazzles Yas Marina Circuit in last ever F1 qualifying
The entire focus was on Sebastian Vettel during Saturday’s qualifying session in Abu Dhabi. Early into Q1, there were doubts regarding his pace and fans feared that he won’t make it to Q2 in his last-ever qualifying run.
Fortunately for him and millions of fans, Vettel made it into Q3 and will start the 2022 Abu Dhabi GP from 9th on the grid. The entire F1 community is hoping for Vettel to have a clean and strong end to his long and illustrious career.
