Sebastian Vettel says his farewell celebrations on the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix made his retirement further troublesome.
Vettel opted to stroll away from F1 on the conclusion of the 2022 season.
The German driver ends his profession as one of the established and profitable drivers within the sport’s historical past, successful 4 world titles and 53 grands prix.
The weekend on the Yas Marina Circuit was stuffed with commemorations for Vettel, which included a monitor run with a whole bunch of members from the paddock and messages from fellow drivers.
Vettel admits that the celebrations solely added to the emotional nature of the occasion.
“It was a bit unusual, you don’t actually know what to anticipate,” Vettel advised ServusTV.
“I’m very fortunate that I used to be capable of rejoice such a pleasant farewell. The popularity from the opposite drivers means loads to me. It was one thing particular, and that makes it twice as arduous.”
Vettel’s closing season in F1 was spent with Aston Martin, with a lot of his competitors coming within the midfield pack.
His former workforce Pink Bull, with whom he received all of his F1 titles, dominated en path to its first double title success since 2013 – Vettel’s penultimate yr with the Milton Keynes-based squad.
Max Verstappen claimed his second world title by a sizeable margin, an achievement that was recommended by Vettel.
“I can solely congratulate Max – his efficiency in 2022 was phenomenal,” Vettel stated. “There has by no means been a System 1 driver who has come alongside like that and in addition been a bit cheeky immediately.
“He already has an unimaginable aptitude, you possibly can see that whenever you see what he does with the automotive. And he reads conditions within the race extraordinarily shortly. You may solely take your hat off to him.”
Vettel has not outlined what he plans to do away from the F1 circuit after his retirement.
Nevertheless, he will likely be again in competitors on the Race of Champions subsequent yr, partnering Mick Schumacher for Workforce Germany.