"Glad I'm not his teammate": When Michael Schumacher was in awe of Sebastian Vettel's historic 2013 F1 season

Former seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher previously claimed that he was "glad" not to be Sebastian Vettel's teammate during the 2013 season. The former Red Bull driver produced one of the greatest F1 seasons in history, securing his fourth consecutive world championship with the Austrian outfit.

After a slow start to the 2013 season, Vettel went undefeated. In the second half of the year, he won nine races on the trot to dominate the grid and secure several records.

In an interview that year, Michael Schumacher, who had retired from the sport in 2012 from Mercedes, spoke generously about his fellow German and said:

"I mean, he won all those races, 13 this year I think. Mark Webber, he won none, that's pretty shocking. Glad I'm not his teammate."

While speaking with BBC F1's Lee McKenzie in 2013, the former Ferrari driver claimed that he would be happy if Sebastian Vettel broke his records, saying:

"A friend of mine achieving it, it stays 'in the family'. I didn't have statistics in my mind when I was racing. It was always a consequence - a nice consequence. I enjoyed it but it wasn't the reason I was racing.

"There is no reason the limits I set will be different because the environment changes. We had 16 races; now there are 20 races. So it is easier to win more races in a season.

---

When Sebastian Vettel revealed his last conversation with Michael Schumacher

Former four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel previously revealed that his last conversation with Michael Schumacher before the latter's accident in 2013 was very "positive".

Speaking with RTL, the former Aston Martin drier was going to be a father at the end of his most successful year in F1 and shared the news with his hero. He said:

“It’s still very, very difficult. I don’t want to say to accept it but to accept that he continues to fight. Yes, of course, I only wish him the best. But it’s still very often a topic I think about privately and I think about a lot and that is definitely a recurring theme.

"Of course, the first thoughts immediately went to the last conversation we had together and that couldn’t be more positive. I told him that I was going to be a father and what was coming for us."

The 37-year-old reflected that his and Schumacher's "relationship became stronger and stronger before the accident" as they shared common interests away from the track as well.

Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher became close after the latter returned to F1 in 2010 and competed alongside his fellow German for three years. They also raced together in the Race of Champions and won every edition that they competed in.