F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Vettel 'fully on it' despite farewell celebrations – Krack

Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack says Sebastian Vettel remained totally committed to his F1 duties during his swansong weekend in Abu Dhabi despite a whirlwind of farewell celebrations and distractions.

At Yas Marina, Vettel closed the curtain on his remarkable fifteen-year career at the pinnacle of motorsport, and the four-time F1 world champion was given a send off worthy of hi achievements.

On Thursday, F1's class of 2022 convened for a private dinner celebration organized by Vettel's former arch-rival Lewis Hamilton while Saturday evening was marked by a track run led by the future retiree that brough together members of the F1 paddock.

All through the weekend, there was no lack of solicitations and tributes paying tribute to the German driver, but the 53-time Grand Prix winner's focus remained on his team and his final race.

"If you look at how much distraction there was from the first moment, even from Brazil where already it was farewell, farewell, farewell, it just increased and increased all the time," commented Vettel's boss Mike Krack.

"But each time he was in the car he was fully on it - I would say more than 100 per cent.

"In qualifying, it was the best example, in Q2 navigating his quickest lap around other cars. That was really, really impressive.

"How he managed to separate the high-class driving from the distraction of the farewell was really exemplary.

"I would not have expected that, to be honest."

And after the checkered flag, when all was said and done, Vettel headed to his final post-race debrief with his Aston Martin crews.

"He was a bit late because of all of his media duties but he went through his stints, precisely describing what the car did," explained Krack.

"Then there were words of thank you, and a glass to drink. What was he drinking? Jagermeister or something like that? It didn't smell very good.

"But he went through it. Many drivers would not have done it."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Verstappen set for second row start at Nürburgring 24 Hours

Max Verstappen will launch his long-awaited Nürburgring 24 Hours debut from the second row of…

12 hours ago

Cadillac's Towriss rejects backmarker label: ‘You don’t know much about F1'

Cadillac F1’s arrival on the grid in 2026 has been anything but quiet, and according…

14 hours ago

Alpine adds former FIA aero chief to F1 technical structure

Alpine has strengthened its growing 2026 Formula 1 project by officially welcoming former FIA head…

15 hours ago

When a Williams found its way on to the grid of the Indy 500

The 65th running of the Indy 500 held back in 1981 saw an interesting and…

17 hours ago

Ralf Schumacher: Life in F1 as Michael’s brother often 'unpleasant'

Ralf Schumacher has opened up about the emotional strain he experienced during his F1 career,…

18 hours ago

Bottas reveals how Miami GP car theft triggered FBI investigation

For most Formula 1 drivers, the biggest threat during a Grand Prix weekend comes on…

19 hours ago