"I feel a bit empty, to be honest" - Sebastian Vettel's farewell message to Formula 1 world at 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP

Sebastian Vettel has retired from Formula 1 after the last race of the 2022 season in Abu Dhabi on November 20. The German finished in P10 after a bad strategy call from Aston Martin, scoring one championship point. The entire race weekend has been emotional for the legendary four-time world champion.

After the race and his memorable burnout on the track, Sebastian Vettel gave a special post-race interview after the podium finishers. He expressed how he felt slightly empty after his final race and reminisced about his last few years in the sport. Although he wasn't able to perform at a high level with the Aston Martin F1 team, he cherished and appreciated the good moments.

Sebastian Vettel said:

"Well, I don’t have that much more to say. I feel a bit empty, to be honest, it's been a big weekend. But I can only repeat, you know: I think the last two years have been very, maybe disappointing from a sporting point of view, but very, very useful and important to me in my life, a lot of things happened. A lot of things that I realised."

Furthermore, Sebastian Vettel also spoke about how the sport inspires millions of people in different ways. He expressed how there are far more important aspects of life and the world than racing which need more attention.

The German hopes to pass on something to the younger drivers to carry on in the sport as well. In the end, he thanked everyone who supported him, from the fans to the teams. Vettel said:

"It's great to see that, you know, we have the power to inspire you with what we do and what we say. So I think there are far bigger and far more important things than racing in circles, but obviously it's what we love and through that if we can transfer some of the really important values that's big."

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Sebastian Vettel's farewell feels permanent, says F1 pundit

Over the years, Formula 1 has seen many older drivers return to the grid and race. The likes of Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Kimi Raikkonen made their grand returns to the sport.

However, Martin Brundle, a former F1 driver and an expert on the sport, feels that Sebastian Vettel might not return as a driver after his last race in Abu Dhabi. He expressed how the four-time world champion's farewell felt permanent. Brundle said:

"It has been a wonderful send off for him. It has a finality to it. There is nothing that suggests this is a temporary farewell but I’m sure others felt like that as well - Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, who came back."

Martin Brundle also pointed out that even though it feels unlikely that Sebastian Vettel will return to the sport, nothing can be said for sure as we've seen other older drivers making surprise returns as well.