Sebastian Vettel was always a controversial character in F1, especially during his last years at Aston Martin.
The four-time world champion often used his platform to bring light to issues in the world, whether it was climate change, same-sex marriage in countries where it was banned, or even saving the bees.
During his time at Aston Martin, he drew some controversy for wearing underwear on the outside of his overalls after the FIA banned drivers from wearing non-regulated garments under their firesuits.
It brought a bit of colour to his tenure at Aston Martin after Vettel effectively went on a ‘downward spiral’ after enjoying varied success at Ferrari. When Vettel joined the team, there was a sense of anticipation and made Aston Martin’s ambitions to win a title clear.
Former F1 strategist Bernie Collins, who worked at the team during Vettel’s time there, recalls one thing that made her ‘worry’ about his arrival when speaking to the Red Flags podcast.
Bernie Collins says Sebastian Vettel’s viewpoints on strategy a ‘big worry’
Vettel was known for dictating his preferred strategy to his Ferrari team, at one stage asking them to perform a calculation on the team radio after indecision from the pit wall.
Drivers can take matters into their own hands if they feel the pit wall is not acting in their best interests, even if it’s not the case, which is why Collins was worried that Vettel might overthrow her if things took too long.
“It was a big worry when he [Vettel] came to us because he spoken about strategy. If there is only one of you, it’s pretty easy to make a decision. I was very lucky in Force India, Racing Point or Aston Martin that when I made a decision, very rarely did the management get involved,” said Collins.
“I’ve hardly ever had anyone in the management team go ‘Well, not quite sure about that’ I never had to check a decision and say ‘I’m thinking of this, what do you think’ and another person says ‘Oh I think this’ – I think some teams have been subject to this in the past because one person doesn’t want to put their neck on the line, so they will ask the person above them what they think, and so on.
“That’s why it takes too long to make a decision and the driver just says, ‘Well I’m going to do this, because I’ve not heard from you guys in two minutes’.”
Sebastian Vettel ‘almost certain’ in F1 comeback
Vettel left the grid at the end of the 2022 season following a difficult last year at Aston Martin, in which he finished 12th in the Drivers’ Championship.
Although Vettel is statistically one of the best F1 drivers of all time, having ranked in fourth on the all-time Grand Prix victory wins list (53 wins) and fourth for poles (57), he struggled to break into the top 10 in his final three years.
Tough final stints at Ferrari and then Aston Martin’s unfulfilled performance eventually led to him calling time on his F1 career, leaving behind a legacy of four world championships.
Vettel has now said he is ‘almost certain’ he is unlikely to want to make a comeback, even if he was considered by teams like Mercedes who wanted him to replace Lewis Hamilton.
