The F1 Beyond The Grid features Sebastian Vettel talking about his career, time with Ferrari, future, life, farming and lot more.
The F1 Beyond The Grid podcast started with Vettel talking about the sport now in general terms to what it was before as he states that his love for racing remains static, despite whatever has happened with him over the years at various times.
He discussed about not looking back at things as much but he does so only when there is something to learn from it. It is for this reason, he doesn’t remembers or likes to remember any sort of ‘best race’ or ‘best moment’ in his F1 career.
But if they go into specifics like with the 2012 Brazilian GP and 2012 Abu Dhabi GP, Vettel is open to discuss, like his move on Jenson Button, which was termed not required then but it ended up being a boon considering how the title was won eventually.
Talking more about his move from Red Bull to Ferrari, and his eventual failure to get the desired result with the Italian manufacturer, he doesn’t blame anyone but himself. He feels that things happen and one cannot control the outcome always.
He also spoke about picking up fights which he shouldn’t have in the past but eventually he cannot undo them, it is something he can only learn from and put his focus on the next job. The 2019 German GP is taken as a low point but he feels there’s more than that.
The topic shifted to his move to Aston Martin, which will be vastly different environment to where he is now at Ferrari. Even though it is a manufacturer brand but the F1 team is still small, based out at the factory near the Silverstone circuit.
He said Lawrence Stroll convinced him handsomely to join, where he felt most of the boxes on the racing side was already ticked. It was mostly the will to do is what he had to be convinced off and the pure racing factor eventually did the trick.
They took the conversation back to his BMW Sauber days as Vettel talked about his growth, something he feels is same for any other person. What he was then in his teen is not the same now, especially with a family now, he is a lot more different.
Answering one of the key questions regarding F1 drivers taking less risks due to kids, Vettel did not see it that way. He feels it is just different perspective to racing, not because he is thinking about kids at home but experience brings maturity to do things differently.
They talked about a skiing tour at Fuji where Tom Clarkson reminded Vettel of his care-free nature, which of course, has now changed. The German feels one shouldn’t overthink things and do it as it is as the topic shifted to what does winning means.
Interestingly, Vettel did not see winning as the ultimate goal, as in, he sees the win should not just be a number but it should have some stories to remember. He is result-driven and competitive but he likes a story to go with it as well, rather than plain victories.
Talking about not watching F1 races after going back home, Vettel things it is of little use. He does watch some highlights but it is mostly to see what happened to others. They then discussed about the road bikes he has and rides – the oldest being from 1928.
In terms of cars, he likens the Ferrari F40 and among F1 cars, it is Ferrari F2004 – a car which he couldn’t buy because it is hugely expensive. He revealed that he plans to drive the recently-purchased Red5 machine of Nigel Mansell.
Taking about the F2004, they discussed the maturity of Mick Schumacher, as to how he is handling himself despite what is going around his father. In terms of his current hobbies, Vettel stated that mountain biking is something he is cherishing now.
In similar stance, Clarkson spoke about sustainable farming, something Vettel is hugely interested in and learning from former F1 champion Jody Scheckter. He feels sad that farming is not looked upon by many despite everyone consuming it day in, day out.
He talked about animal welfare and living in an environment friendly way. He admits, it is odd to drive F1 cars and think about environment but they do so. He reckons the future is anyways changing and now they may finally see autonomous cars on raods.
Summing up everything, he states there is no regrets of whatever he has done and achieved. He is happy if people don’t recognise him as fame is not something he wants – he feels traditional way of knowing is better unlike now, where you assume about people.
He says he is fortunate with the privileged life he has had despite coming from a humble background. For him, achieving happiness is his goal in life in whatever he does as they ended the podcast talking about British Green suiting him more than Ferrari Red.
Here is the link to the podcast as FOM prohibits embedding: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5NjQzMzkucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0xMC0wNjovcG9zdHMvNzY5OTI1Mg?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwiErPyS_qHsAhUKOSsKHe2pCb4QieUEegQIDRAF&ep=6
Here’s the last episode of F1 Nation
Here’s F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast having Zak Brown