Christian Horner: I think it's the right for Sebastian Vettel to retire



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Christian Horner: I think it's the right for Sebastian Vettel to retire

Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner is certainly not happy with Sebastian Vettel's departure, but he is aware of his decision and understands the German's needs. "He was a pleasure for us to have in our team,” said Horner for motorsport.“We achieved some great things together.

I think having just watched him grow from a boy into a young man, he's a very principled guy. He has very strong beliefs. “We've seen that in the latter stages of his career, as he's very much standing up for things that he feels passionate about, and rightly so.

His family is important to him. He's a very private man. So pleased to see he's become an Instagrammer recently! “And while his F1 career comes to an end, he's got a lot that I'm sure he wants to do in his life. And I'm sure he's going to go on and do some great things.

It'll be sad not to see him around. But I think the timing is right for him. “It's not nice to see him running around in the middle of the field, he doesn't deserve to be there. And I think the time is right for him to say, 'Now's the time for me to call time on F1'”.

Work ethic

His work ethic has made him the driver he is. “I think the thing that stood out about Seb, was from the very beginning, you could see he was a very focused young man, and his work ethic was totally Germanic.

“He worked hard, he worked late, and he had a great sense of humour, so fitting into a British team, he embraced the culture immediately. “He endeared himself across all areas of the business, whether he was turning up with chocolates for secretaries or learning the lingo in the garage – his command of cockney slang became legendary.

“He was formidable in the cars that we produced in that period of time. They were halcyon days in F1 – massive competitors, big teams that we were up against, and some outstanding successes. “He, at that stage, was very focused on achieving not just success, but achieving and going for records.

They meant a lot to him”. Horner also emphasized the progress Sebastian Vettel has made “He just got better and better. I mean, in 2009, we were a young team, as well as him. And we made a few mistakes. In ‘10, he was the standout driver that year, had a lot of unreliability, and against the odds won the championship at the end of the year.

“In ’11, he built on that. ’12 was a super tough year. He’d only won one race before we left Europe. And then won, I think, four on the bounce to go head-to-head with Fernando [Alonso] in that final race in Brazil.

“By the time we got to ’13, he just absolutely dominated, and then nine victories in succession that he achieved, that was that for me was his pinnacle year. He brought everything together and was just truly outstanding that year”.