Sebastian Vettel is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, having won four World Championships between 2010 and 2013 during his Red Bull stint. His legendary status was solidified during his time at Milton Keynes but his popularity among fans rapidly grew later on.
He joined Ferrari in 2015 and stayed with them until the 2020 season. During this time, his main on-track rival was Lewis Hamilton but because of Mercedes’ dominance, he couldn’t pose a real threat to the Title challenge. However, off the track, he began to make a bigger impact. The German driver started to highlight issues that plagued society such as discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
Sebastian Vettel wore a Pride shirt in protest against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation brought in by Hungary’s government.
He spoke to the BBC’s LGBT Sport Podcast about why he decided to take a stand at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
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— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 7, 2021
Vettel’s reputation as one of the nicest drivers on the grid also increased with time. After he decided to retire at the end of the 2022 campaign, tributes from all over the community poured in, and all 20 drivers gathered together for a dinner ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi as a farewell for the four-time World Champion.
There were plenty of moments that could highlight how nice a person Vettel is. However, asking your own mechanics to help another driver during a Grand Prix weekend definitely stands out.
Sebastian Vettel makes the Ferrari crew help out a rival team
In F1, all drivers look for opportunities to gain advantage over their rivals, no matter how small it is. Even in practice sessions, getting more running time may work to an advantage for a team.
During a free practice session back in the 2019 F1 season, Vettel showed everyone how thoughtful he was when he made his Ferrari mechanic go and help a driver of another team. Toro Rosso driver Alex Albon was right behind him on the pitlane and his brakes were on fire. When Vettel pitted, his crew came close to his car to cool down the brakes, but the former Red Bull driver urged them to help Albon out.
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“Help them, help them with the fans!” Vettel told the Scuderia’s crew. “Help the Toro Rosso.” The Ferrari mechanic immediately abided by Vettel’s request and rushed to help Albon and the Toro Rosso crew out.
Also read: Helmut Marko fears Mercedes’ strong comeback with 7x world champion Lewis Hamilton
