Sebastian Vettel believes that today's fast moving world is one that always looks ahead, meaning that he is likely to be forgotten "very quickly" once he hangs up his helmet.
Vettel hopes to revive his fortunes in Formula 1 with his new team Aston Martin following a dismal period of underperformance with Ferrari.
But regardless of what the future holds for the German, the four-time world champion and 53-time Grand Prix winner will go down in history as one of the sport's most prolific drivers, surpassed in world titles only by the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio.
Yet, the 33-year-old is convinced his name will eventually fade away and become unfamiliar to the generations of the future.
"I don’t care what people think," Vettel said earlier this week at the presentation of Aston Martin's 2021 season.
"Our world always looks ahead, which is positive. You can’t stand still in the past, otherwise we would still be here talking about Juan Manuel Fangio as the God of all drivers.
"I think he was a great, a very special driver. But if we ask a 15-year-old today who Juan Manuel Fangio was, I don’t think they could give an answer.
"In the end this isn’t wrong, in the sense that time passes and will pass again," he added.
"I’m sure that when I say goodbye to Formula 1, I will be forgotten very quickly and that’s fine with me, I think that’s right.
"This is also the reason why I’m not too worried about having to prove something to people and I concentrate only on who I have in front of me and on myself.
"I don’t want to sound selfish or arrogant, but in the end it’s me and the team. There are the people who support me and who have given me a lot in the last 10 years, standing by me regardless of the last result."
Vettel believes that today's drivers, when judged by others, are only as good as their last two races, and that little consideration is given to an individual's overall track record.
"I think F1 is moving very fast, not only in terms of speed on the track but also with assessments that are now based on the last two results," he said.
"You can come out of nowhere and be judged a hero after a couple of good races or, as in my case, have more than 50 wins and be judged average. That’s how it goes today."
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