"It hurt him so much" - Sebastian Vettel made up his mind to retire from F1 after starting 'around at the end of the field' at 2022 Austrian GP, says his father

Sebastian Vettel reportedly made up his mind to retire from F1 at the 2022 Austrian GP after a poor outing for Aston Martin saw him start the race in P19 and finish as the last of the classified runners.

According to the four-time world champion's father Norbert Vettel, the German driver was frustrated with a continued lack of performance in 2022, with the Austrian GP weekend being a particularly low point. Speaking to RTL ahead of the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, Vettel Sr. said:

“It’s a shame, but I understand him. That was an incredible career for my son and the low point was Austria. It hurt him so much to drive around at the end of the field and that accelerated this thought.”

Sebastian Vettel’s decision to retire at the end of the 2022 F1 season came as a shocker to many given that the German is still relatively young and could have easily continued to race in the sport for at least another five more years.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin is on the up following a huge and continued investment from owner Lawrence Stroll. Despite failing to meet expectations this season, the team has made huge strides since the start of the season to become a regular points contender.

However, the team’s improvement hasn’t been enough to convince Vettel to stay on with them for the long term. Being one of the most successful drivers in the sport’s history, Vettel doesn’t seem to fancy fighting at the back of the grid for long. And given that he had little else to go, his only option was to hang up his helmet for good.

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Lewis Hamilton hopes Sebastian Vettel will continue to “inspire the new generation” of F1 drivers

Lewis Hamilton hopes that Sebastian Vettel will continue to inspire the next generation of F1 drivers to be more confident about themselves and to use their platform to drive social change, just as the four-time F1 world champion has done so far.

Reacting to Vettel’s retirement announcement, Hamilton felt that the German has been an invaluable asset to the sport, especially through his outspoken advocacy for other drivers as well as other social issues. He said:

“I really hope he inspires the next generation, whether it’s this generation or the younger generation that will be coming through - to be more confident and utilise this platform and realise it is not just about them and their car.”

He added:

“It’s about something far, far bigger than being here. I really hope to see more people like him, but I can’t guarantee that because he’s around.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton believes that Sebastian Vettel will continue to pursue his activism and advocacy on issues such as climate change, equality and more even after retirement.