Sebastian Vettel says the recognition paid to him by his fellow Formula 1 drivers in Abu Dhabi made his farewell weekend "twice as hard".
From Aston Martin to Ferrari, his former teams, to the Formula 1 community at large, Vettel enjoyed a festive and celebratory final Grand Prix weekend last month at Yas Marina.
The Scuderia paid tribute to its former driver by gifting Vettel a Ferrari engine cover from one of his former cars signed by all of the Scuderia's mechanics.
And on Saturday evening, the F1 paddock came together and lined up behind Vettel for a farewell track run celebrating the four-time world champion.
But earlier in the week, one commemorative moment was particularly appreciated by Vettel. At the instigation of Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1's class of 2022 came together on Thursday evening in Abu Dhabi for a night out to celebrate the life and times of the German driver.
Vettel was given by his peers the send-off his remarkable career among motorsport's elite deserved, and it started an influx of emotions for the future F1 retiree. .
"It was a bit strange, you don’t really know what to expect," Vettel told ServusTV recently.
"I’m very lucky that I was able to celebrate such a nice farewell. The recognition from the other drivers means a lot to me. It was something special, and that makes it twice as hard."
Sitting alongside his former Red Bull chiefs Christian Horner and Helmut Marko at ServusTV's makeshift studio in the energy drink company's famous Hanger-7 at Salzburg airport, and flanked also by 2022 world champion Max Verstappen, Vettel was full of praise for the Dutchman's dominant campaign in 2022.
"I can only congratulate Max – his performance in 2022 was phenomenal," Vettel said.
"There has never been a Formula 1 driver who has come along like that and also been a bit cheeky right away.
"He already has an incredible flair, you can see that when you see what he does with the car. And he reads situations in the race extremely quickly. You can only take your hat off to him."
While Vettel has departed the grid in F1, he'll kick off 2023 by competing in the Race of Champions event in Sweden on January 28-29.
The 35-year-old will also be teaming up once again in the RoC's Nations Cup event with countryman Mick Schumacher.
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