Sebastian Vettel is a German former Formula 1 driver, widely regarded as one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport. Over a career spanning 16 seasons, he became known for his exceptional consistency, technical understanding, and record-breaking achievements, including becoming the youngest World Champion in Formula 1 history.

Sebastian Vettel was born on 3 July 1987 in Heppenheim, West Germany, as the son of Norbert Vettel and Heike Vettel. He has a younger brother named Fabian Vettel, who is also a racing driver, and two older sisters, Melanie Vettel, a dental technician, and Stefanie Vettel, a physiotherapist working with disabled children. Vettel graduated from Starkenburg-Gymnasium in Heppenheim.

Sebastian Vettel's childhood heroes were known as the “Three Michaels”: Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan, and Michael Jackson. He once stated that he wanted to become a singer like Jackson but realized he lacked vocal talent. Vettel is also a fan of The Beatles, owns several vinyl records including Abbey Road, and has cited “Drive My Car” as his favorite song. In an interview on Top Gear, he mentioned being a fan of British comedies such as Little Britain and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Sebastian Vettel began his racing career in karting at the age of eight in 1995 and joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 1998. At just 14 years old, he won the Junior Monaco Kart Series in 2001. He transitioned to open-wheel racing in 2003 and, in 2004, dominated the German Formula BMW Championship by winning 18 of 20 races, securing the title at age 17. During this period, he attracted the attention of leading Formula 1 figures, most notably Michael Schumacher.

In 2005, Sebastian Vettel competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series with ASL Mücke Motorsport, finishing fifth in the championship with 64 points and earning the title of best rookie. Although he did not win a race, he and Lewis Hamilton emerged as the standout drivers of the season. This success earned him a test drive with the Williams team on 27 September 2005, followed by participation in a test program with Sauber.

Sebastian Vettel raced in Formula 1 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Ferrari, and Aston Martin Formula 1 Team. He won the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship four consecutive times in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. He also holds the record as the youngest Formula 1 World Champion.

At the age of 19, Sebastian Vettel made his Formula 1 debut at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix as BMW Sauber’s third driver, becoming the youngest driver in Formula 1 history at that time. On 17 June 2007, at the United States Grand Prix, he became both the sixth-youngest driver to start a Formula 1 race and the youngest driver to score championship points. Later that year, at the Chinese Grand Prix on 30 September 2007, he became the youngest driver to lead a Formula 1 race.

At the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel broke two more records by becoming the youngest driver to secure pole position and the youngest to win a Formula 1 race. He also became the youngest driver to win races with two different teams. By winning the championship at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he surpassed Lewis Hamilton to become the youngest Formula 1 World Champion, further following in the footsteps of his idol Michael Schumacher. He dominated the 2011 Formula 1 season and clinched the championship with five races remaining.

The 2018 season began strongly for Sebastian Vettel with victories in the Australian and Bahrain Grands Prix. He led the championship by eight points over Lewis Hamilton until the German Grand Prix, where he crashed out while leading at his home race. Hamilton won that race and took the championship lead. Afterward, Vettel won only the Belgian Grand Prix and finished the season second overall with 320 points.

On 12 May 2020, Sebastian Vettel announced his departure from Scuderia Ferrari and joined Racing Point F1, which later became the Aston Martin Formula 1 Team in 2021.

Inspired by American bomber pilots from World War II, Sebastian Vettel developed a tradition of naming his race cars. He explained that forming a personal bond with a car is important and that, like ships, cars should have female names. His cars included Julie (2008 Toro Rosso STR3), Kate and Kate’s Dirty Sister (2009), Luscious Liz and Randy Mandy (2010), Kinky Kylie (2011), Abbey (2012), Hungry Heidi (2013), Suzie (2014 Red Bull RB10), Eva (2015 Ferrari SF15-T), Margherita (2016), Gina (2017), Loria (2018), Lina (2019), and Lucilla (2020). In 2021, he named his Aston Martin AMR21 after Honey Ryder, a character from the Dr. No James Bond film. He never publicly named the AMR22.

Fluent in German, English, French, and Italian, Sebastian Vettel resides in Thurgovia, Switzerland. He married his childhood friend Hanna Prater in 2019, and they have three children.

Sebastian Vettel retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season with 53 career race victories and four World Championships. In 2025, he stated that he was considering a potential return to Formula 1.

Source: Biyografiler.com