Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel on Sunday retired from Formula One in a reflective mood after finishing 10th in his farewell race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The 35-year-old father-of-three, who said he wants to depart the sport to spend more time with his family and do other things, scored a solitary point for his Aston Martin team in a frustrating strategic race.
“I enjoyed the race, it was a bit of a different warm-up to get into it, but once the lights went off it was full-on race mode,” he said, referring to the celebrations he experienced before the start.
Photo: AFP
After 15 years, 299 race starts (from 300 entries) with BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin, he heads into retirement with four drivers’ world titles, 53 race wins, 57 pole positions and a chorus of tributes ringing in his ears.
More than that, as most paddock observers pointed out, he conducted himself with a real sense of humanity, mixing a mischievous sense of fun with a serious appreciation of his responsibilities as a role model with a social conscious.
“I feel a bit empty,” he said. “It’s been a big weekend. The last two years have been disappointing, but there are more important things in life.”
Photo: AFP
“It’s a huge privilege to be in the position I’m in. I hope I can pass this on to the other drivers — the responsibility. There’re many far bigger and more important things in life than racing in circles,” he said.
Many who followed his progress from cheeky baby-faced “assassin” blessed with speed, a gift for languages and a love of English humor to urbane and thoughtful long-haired leader of good causes would be sad to see him go.
As he stood and underwent his umpteenth interview in good humor, he turned and smiled to a young rival standing beside him.
At just 23, the usually lively Lando Norris of McLaren is seen as a star of the future, but stood in respectful quiet as the 35-year-old German spoke.
“I think the important thing is nowadays it’s not just what you do on track, but off track too,” he said. “The influence you can have. I’m more shy than Seb, but I will learn to speak the truth and my opinions.”
“I am lucky to race alongside one of the greatest in F1. It’s been a privilege and I’ve learnt from him,” he added.
It was a widely repeated sentiment.
“Out of all the drivers that I’ve raced with, Seb was the first one to stand by me and ‘take the knee’ with me,” Lewis Hamilton said. “He is the first one to go out of his way to fight for things he cares about.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
RSS