Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel (born 3 July 1987 in Heppenheim, West Germany) is a German former Formula One driver who raced from 2007 to 2022. He won four straight World Drivers' Championship titles with Red Bull and is still the youngest champion in the sport's history, collecting 53 Grand Prix victories over 16 seasons. Vettel grew up in Heppenheim, the son of Norbert and Heike Vettel, with one younger brother—also a racing driver—and two older sisters. He called himself "terrible" at school but passed his Abitur with a decent grade, and his childhood heroes were the three Michaels: Schumacher, Jordan, and Jackson. He wanted to be a singer like Jackson but realized he lacked the voice; he is also a Beatles fan, owning records including Abbey Road, with "Drive My Car" as his favorite song, and enjoys British comedy like Little Britain and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Vettel started karting at age three and began racing in kart series at eight. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 1998 and won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001. Moving to open-wheel cars in 2003, he tested a Champ Car at Homestead–Miami Speedway, then dominated the 2004 Formula BMW ADAC championship with 18 wins from 20 races. In 2005, he drove in the Formula 3 Euro Series for ASL Mücke Motorsport, finishing fifth and winning the Rookie Cup, and tested for Williams and BMW Sauber.

He became BMW Sauber's test driver in 2006, finishing runner-up in the Formula 3 Euro Series and competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, where he won his first two races at Misano. After an accident at Spa-Francorchamps nearly sliced off his finger, he still raced at the Masters of Formula 3 the next weekend, placing sixth. In 2007, he led the Formula Renault 3.5 Series championship after winning at the Nürburgring before being called up permanently by BMW Sauber.

Vettel made his Formula One debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix as a test driver for BMW Sauber, then replaced Scott Speed at Toro Rosso for the rest of the season. He kept his seat for 2008, taking his first pole and victory at the Italian Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver to win a Grand Prix at the time. Promoted to Red Bull in 2009, he won several races and finished runner-up to Jenson Button in the championship. He became the youngest-ever World Drivers' Champion at age 23 after winning the title-deciding race in 2010.

He won his second and third titles in 2011 and 2012, dominating the former and beating Fernando Alonso in a close battle for the latter. In 2013, he set records with 13 wins—including nine straight—to claim his fourth consecutive title. After a winless 2014 season, Vettel signed with Ferrari, replacing Alonso to partner Kimi Räikkönen; he won several races in his first year and finished third. Following another winless season in 2016, he became Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton's closest rival, finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2018 with multiple wins.

Paired with Charles Leclerc in 2019, Vettel took his final career win at the Singapore Grand Prix before leaving Ferrari at the end of 2020. He joined the new Aston Martin team in 2021 and scored his last podium at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel retired after the 2022 season, leaving with the fourth-most wins (53), fourth-most pole positions (57), fifth-most fastest laps (38), and fourth-most podium finishes (122) in Formula One history. He won the Race of Champions in 2015 and the Nations' Cup six straight times from 2007 to 2012 with Michael Schumacher for Germany. Since 2023, he has been a co-owner of the Germany SailGP Team and is known for his environmental and climate activism.