For you there is the second part of the interview with Sebastian. Seb answers questions about his future and upcoming goals. A stimulating and interesting reading, we hope you too can appreciate it. Enjoy the reading!
Today Sebastian Vettel has only one goal: to remain in Ferrari until the end of 2022.
Let's clarify: he doesn't say it, and probably will never say it in public, but having said that, you don't have to be an established behavioral psychologist to understand it.
Seb's adventure in red still has an ending to write and, in spite of everything, Vettel still firmly believes he can put that long-dreamed epilogue on black and white ever since in the autumn of 2014 he signed his first contract with Ferrari.
If it were not so, if Seb had put aside that dream come true by his idol Schumacher, Vettel would not pave to renew the contract.
He would sniff the air trying a blow on the economic front in other shores, but it is not: even after five years went less well than expected, Seb doesn't even think about leaving the Cavallino.
I don't want to ask you what you will do next year, also because you wouldn't answer me. But I want to understand if you have thought about your career in the long run, about what you will do, for example, in the next five years ...
"Yes, I thought about it and still think about it, obviously. There is something I have in mind, and then I am realistic, I don't want to stay in Formula 1 for another ten years".
Wait to say it! Kimi is still here and if ten years ago they said there would be a 40-year-old driver, the last one we would have thought is probably him ...
“Yes, it's really a surprise. But what I mean is that we sportsmen have a limited time. Whether you are playing football, tennis, driving any sports car or sailing in the Americas Cup, you know you only have a certain number of years to do it. In some sports the career is shorter by force of things, in others, it is a little longer, but you already know well before you start that time is limited, even if maybe you don't think about it when you are young. Maybe the only one career that does not have these limits is that of the chess player, because what matters is the mind, but if you are a cyclist you can also have a brilliant mind, but if the legs start not responding to commands anymore the situation changes".
When did you start thinking about this?
"It is something you start gradually, at twenty years it is not natural to focus on a situation that you know is far away, then when you are over thirty you start to ask yourself: 'where will I be in ten years?' It's a strange feeling, you start to become aware on the way that what you are doing you will not do it forever, even if you would like to do it. I would be stupid to ignore this aspect, but it does not mean that every day I wake up wondering what I will do in the next five years, I am relaxed in this aspect, because I think I am in a very lucky position, which will allow me to try to do many things the day when I decide to stop racing in F1. Maybe I will stay in racing, competing elsewhere, maybe I will always do something different in motorsport or will be engaged in a completely foreign context, outside of this world".
A new challenge?
“Yes, a new challenge. I have some ideas, but I haven't decided. But today I'm still in Formula 1".
When you joined Ferrari five years ago, your goal was to get back to the top with this team. Do you always have the same target as 2015?
“Well, my goal is always the same, because we haven't achieved it yet. Mercedes has beaten us in recent years, so the mission always remains the same. We have played many races, I think there have been great moments as well as less good days, but as I said the goal remains the same, it's still there, my goal is to win with Ferrari".
At the moment only Charles, Ocon and Verstappen have a contract already signed for 2021, so I imagine that there will be a lot of market talk during this season. When it comes to salaries, the drivers are in the fight as on the track, but I don't think it's just a question of money. For Ayrton Senna, for example, being the highest paid in the paddock became an acknowledgment of his talent. How do you see it?
“You know, it depends on what is really important to you, what guides you in making decisions. I don't want to point the finger at anyone, mind you: if money motivates you, then battle for that, there are many men of sports and business driven by earnings. I think the real question to ask is: when does the money get enough?".
You mean when you can afford not to think about it anymore?
"It is not an aspect of Formula 1 alone. Here we are in a 'circus' that has been a bit lost, a lot of money is circulating and money tends to ruin people. And let's go back to what I said a little while ago: you have to see where you have your limit. At some point, money stops being the most important thing, but there is always the desire to enjoy what you are doing. Ours is a job that few can do, and I believe that all of us in helmets and overalls should always to show that you appreciate it, to be happy to do it, to enjoy a time that a little while ago we said was not infinite. This is the key for me".
Do you imagine yourself in a half-lined team, with the same motivations and the same passion?
“I don't know, I can't give you an answer to this question. I don't really know. When I was in the middle of the grid, I was at the beginning of my career in Formula 1, with Toro Rosso and shortly thereafter at Red Bull, even though we got back to them quickly. In Toro Rosso the first year we fought for the seventeenth or fifteenth position, I had Vitantonio Liuzzi as a teammate and we were not competitive enough. The following year (2008) was incredible: we were able to fight for the twelfth place, then for the tenth, then at the end of the season we were constantly in the top 10".
So it's all relative, in reality the relationship between the results and the objectives of the eve counts ...
"Yes, it depends on the situation: when you start fighting for the top 10, finding yourself in the top 5 is exciting, but when you spend the last 10 years in the top 5 and then you find yourself fifteenth, the sensations cannot be the same. It goes without saying that if you find yourself fifteenth after having spent a life in eighteenth place, you seem to have reached the most beautiful thing in the world. I don't think you can pretend nothing about your past, if you won a lot I think you want to win again. Look at Kimi, for example: he certainly can't fight for victory now. I think he would like to do it, if he could choose to do it. But in the end, if you are driven by passion, you find satisfaction and you can also have fun driving and racing alone".
Source: Motorsport
Journalist: Roberto Chinchero
Translation: Sebforever587
Image 1-2: credits to Motorsport
Image 3: credits to Getty Images
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