Sebastian Vettel admits he does fear what life will be like when he eventually retires from Formula 1.
The four-time world champion’s future has been a topic of speculation with questions over if he has sufficient motivation to continue at Aston Martin beyond this season.
However, while good friend Kimi Raikkonen was more than ready to leave F1 behind to focus on family at the end of last year, Vettel isn’t so sure about following the Finn.
“Yes,” he told PA news agency when asked if he was scared about retirement.
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“I have done motor racing for my whole life and it gives you security, in terms of the schedule being made by other people.
“I don’t know what life after Formula 1 looks like and I don’t think any sportsperson knows what the next life looks like. You can have certain things lined up but you don’t know and that is the truth.
“I don’t expect to find something tomorrow which I am really good at because I have found something in my life that I am really good at and it is hard to find that again. How many times can you win the lottery?”
At the same time, Vettel does see the upsides of moving on.
“I enjoy driving the car but there are other things I don’t like,” he said.
“After so many years the usual stuff comes up that you don’t understand at the beginning, like the travel. It is very time-consuming and I have kids at home and a family so it equals time away from them.
“The future depends on this year and the races that I have coming up. I have not decided yet. The summer is the usual time when you start to talk so we will see.”
If Vettel did retire, Aston Martin have been linked to another German in Mick Schumacher, to whom Sebastian is a mentor, and even Fernando Alonso.
But team boss Mike Krack confirmed retaining the former Red Bull and Ferrari driver is the preferred option and not just for one more year.
“We were always clear that if he wants to continue, we would like him to stay for long, yes,” he told reporters in Montreal.
“We are talking. We have a very, very good relationship, and it is not that we have to set each other deadlines. Obviously at one point, if we drag that too long, we will also be running into trouble, and he’s aware of that.
“But they are very trustworthy discussions that we are having. From that point of view, it’s all good.”
