Our childhood is fundamental. It was the car, not the driver, the haters said. He won several junior titles, like Junior Monaco Kart Cup in 2001. container: 'taboola-below-article-thumbnails-3rd', [84], Vettel's run of fourteen successive front-row starts and eleven successive top two finishes ended at his home race, where he qualified third and finished fourth. He grew up loving music and had pop icons like Michael Jackson as idols. So Vettel won over the team and quickly became its natural focus. He was leading the championship, but was called up to Formula One permanently. Everything you think you might be doing or want to do, I dont know if its going to be satisfying. This article was created by a combination of a few writers and editors from Sporty Tell. Because I dont know any different than this. He prefers to rent a house far from the track, often accompanied by his family. [124] He was denied an early release from his Red Bull contract to test the 2014 Ferrari car in Abu Dhabi. . He blamed Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat for the collision, labelling him a "madman" and described his overtaking manoeuvre as "suicidal". 1998 M. Hkkinen Sebastian's zodiac sign is Cancer. 2006 F. Alonso [99][100] He won next race in Singapore, as he kept the lead until the 2-hour race limit was reached. In the Japanese Grand Prix, he crashed into Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing, and both drivers had to retire. In 2008, he could not finish a single race. In 2012, he celebrated his 50th helmet design. [203] Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer reported no concerns, owing to this being a very different car from the Ferrari, lack of laps in pre-season testing and a very impressive race start. Little wonder he performed terribly in academics but passed his leaving exams at Starkenburg-Gymnasium secondary school with a respectable grade that might have screamed dont go to college. [243] Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vettel expressed an intent to boycott the September's Russian Grand Prix had the race gone ahead as planned. He has four World Championships, tied with Alain Prost and bested only by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton (and, from the pre-F1 grand prix era, Juan Manuel Fangio. The two racers were the early favourites for a title race that season, and the rivalry exploded into life the moment the cars made contact despite the fact they were both behind the safety car at the time. As a result of his interest, Vettel adored, former Formula One racer, Michael Schumacher, legendary basketball player, Michael Jordan and late pop star, Michael Jackson. The rest is history: In 2010, Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to win an F1 World Championship, at age 23 and 133 days. Sebastian Vettel is married to his childhood friend, Hanna Prater, who he is said to have first met in 2006. [38] Vettel became the then-youngest Formula One driver to participate in a Grand Prix weekend at 19 years and 53 days.