Nico Rosberg has questioned whether Sebastian Vettel's decision to retire from Formula 1 was taken at the right time given the four-time world champion's relatively uninspired final two years with Aston Martin.
Vettel's fifteen-year presence among motorsport's elite yielded an outstanding track record that includes 53 Grand Prix wins and four successive world titles clinched with Red Bull Racing between 2010 and 2013.
Unfortunately, the German ace never succeeded in bringing back a world championship to Maranello during his six-year tenure with Ferrari, although Vettel finished runner-up to arch-rival Lewis Hamilton in 2017 and 2018.
Despite that shortfall, Rosberg says Vettel's legacy is "legendary".
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"To begin with, he leaves a legendary career," the 2016 F1 world champion told Sport1.
"Seb is one of the most successful drivers of all time and it is incredible what he has achieved in Formula 1. Those four titles in a row are of course insane."
Vettel was informed even before the start of F1's Covid-delayed 2020 season that he no longer figured in Ferrari's plans. He nevertheless found refuge for 2021 with Lawrence Stroll's Aston outfit.
But the Silverstone-based team was a second-tier midfield contender at best. Opportunities to shine for Vettel were only too rare.
"There he had phases in which he drove fantastic again, for example at the end of this season. But that was not always the case," commented Rosberg.
"He has often spun by himself, which is totally inexplicable for a four-time World Champion.
"It was strange that those things happened race after race. Mentally that must have been difficult."
Commenting on the timing of Vettel's decision to hang up his helmet, Rosberg drew a parallel with the end of his own career.
"I absolutely wanted to avoid ending up in a negative spiral and sinking further and further," he said. "That was the horror scenario for me.
"I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for Seb either. But whether he stopped at the right time, that’s a question only he can answer himself.
"In the last races it seemed like he was liberated and he drove like in his best period. He drove brilliant races and showed incredible things," added the former Mercedes charger.
"In Austin he was in the lead and in Brazil he was fourth or fifth with a car that was extremely slow. That was very strong and because of that I believe he had a nice end to his career."
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