Sebastian Vettel "changed completely when he became a dad", opines F1 presenter

According to F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham, Sebastian Vettel has transformed since having a child. Vettel was one of those drivers that achieved great success at the beginning of his career. He won 4 consecutive world titles from 2010-2013 and dominated the sport during that time. He switched teams from Red Bull to Ferrari in 2014 and was never able to reach the same heights again.

During his early days, Sebastian Vettel was known as a young, tenacious driver bursting with energy. By the end of his career, Vettel seems to have calmed down to a certain extent. According to Natalie Pinkham, this had to do with the fact that the German became a father in the meantime. On the F1 Nation podcast, Natalie said,

“I don’t know about you, Damon, but I’ve seen over the last 12 years being in the sport a real change in him. But I really pin it on him becoming a father. He changed completely when he became a dad, he started to care more about the world around him. The way he interacted with people, he wasn’t quite as ruthless as he had been in the past. It wasn’t all about winning. He was seeing the bigger picture. He’s just a genuinely lovely bloke who wants to make a difference in the world.”

Sebastian Vettel has three kids with his wife Hanna Prater. Their first child, Emilie, was born on 12 January 2014. They had a second daughter, Mathilda, in September 2015, and a third child, a boy, was born in 2019.

Sebastian Vettel talks about what he wants for his kids

Vettel had recently opened up about what he wanted for his young kids. The four-time world champion has retired this season and said that he wants to teach his kids how to do things the right way, especially in sports. He said,

“I also want to set a certain language for my children. But emotions remain important. Especially in sports. Sometimes you’re happy, sometimes angry, sometimes sad. There’s no shame in showing that too. But the decisive factor is the way it is done.”

There is certainly credence to the observation that Vettel has mellowed in the later years of his career, but it is hard to say that this was solely because of him becoming a father. On the professional side of things, Vettel had put a lot into his stint at Ferrari and it could be said that when that did not work out, it took a part of him as well. It changed the way he approached the sport and realigned his thoughts on what he wanted to do in life.