Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are Germany’s greatest F1 drivers. Their exploits on the track aside, Vettel and Schumacher are great friends. Vettel even considers the latter to be his mentor, who once gave him a valuable piece of advice before he made it to the top of F1.
Upon recognizing the young and talented driver from Heppenheim, Schumacher advised him to work hard, as revealed by Matt Bishop in a conversation with Richard Williams in the recent And That’s Colossally History podcast.
“I think Michael said to Seb, ‘You just gotta work hard, you just gotta work hard,’ and Seb did it,” said Bishop. For Schumacher, it was imperative to share this because Vettel was dubbed as the next big thing in F1 from Germany.
Schumacher also asked Vettel to focus on loyalty, teamwork, and leadership. Schumacher used to stay back until the end of a race with engineers and mechanics, which helped him garner loyalty from the team.
Vettel, idolizing his mentor, did the same at Red Bull. After races, he would speak with mechanics and engineers, actively recognizing the efforts they put in behind the scenes.
Sebastian Vettel followed in the footsteps of Michael Schumacher
Vettel’s habit of staying behind and talking to engineers till the end was brought to light by Bishop in the same podcast. “He’d [Vettel] always be last, he’d always be debriefing with the mechanics and engineers long after half or the rest of the people have gone back.”
Schumacher gave Vettel advice on what he should do, and the former Red Bull driver decided to follow in the footsteps of his legendary compatriot. Because of their special relationship, he now acts as a mentor to Michael Schumacher’s son Mick.
Since his tragic accident in 2013, Schumacher has been confined to his home, which is why Vettel took up the role of guiding Mick as he ventured into the world of F1. At the end of the 2022 season, Mick lost his seat at Haas and Vettel retired from the sport, but they remain close.
It’s unlikely that Vettel will make a return to F1, but there are rumors linking him to the Mercedes seat. Recently, the four-time World Champion also tested a 24 Hours of Le Mans car, which could point towards a return to the world of motorsports.
