Sebastian Vettel has admitted he is not interested in being “remembered” once he leaves Formula 1.
The four-time world champion appeared destined to break all kinds of records when he enjoyed a period of domination at Red Bull and had hoped to build on it by following his dream of racing with Ferrari.
While there have been some good moments, his time in red has fallen short of expectations, losing the last two championships to Lewis Hamilton and now facing a threat from youngster Charles Leclerc.
As a result, talk of retirement has begun to grow and in Baku, Vettel was asked about what kind of legacy he wanted to leave in F1.
“I don’t care, I don’t need a legacy,” he told Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle. “I think, especially nowadays, the world is moving so fast – I don’t need to be remembered.
“I’m not sad about it, it’s good to move on.
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“As much as I love tradition, and I’m a traditionalist, I’m against being stuck in a moment, or era. I think it’s good to go on, it’s good to go forward, we have to.
“I hope that when I’m older, I’m progressive – moving forward and not looking back. I think it’s nice to look back on a career, but it’s not the point of our lives, I guess.
“It’s much more about looking forward.”
As the prospect of not following Michael Schumacher as a Ferrari world champion grows, and Brundle would follow up by asking if Vettel would trade a Red Bull title for one with the Scuderia.
“Maybe I’m a bad dealer but I wouldn’t because I’m convinced I can win with Ferrari,” he said.
“It’s something that I want to achieve first. I don’t want to sound selfish or arrogant, but I put a lot of pressure on my shoulders.”
A decisive factor in that will be the progress of Leclerc, who has already caused a stir since joining from Sauber this season.
“I think it’s normal if you’re in the same car, you’re fighting your team-mate for the same spot on the track every now and then,” he said on their battle.
“Obviously it’s up to me to make sure he’s rather behind rather than in front and we are obviously pushing each other and pushing the team.
“I think that’s the priority, to get Ferrari back to winning ways and then the rest will be sorted out.”
