Who is the most talented driver Sebastian Vettel has ever met?

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel recently gave a heartwarming interview on 'Beyond the Grid', one of F1's official podcasts.

The German legend will soon leave the sport after his last race at the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi GP. Millions of fans are extremely saddened by this as the four-time world champion is not only a brilliant driver, but also an amazing human being.

During his interview on the podcast, he talked a lot about his Formula 1 career and the drivers he raced against. The conversation turned towards Kimi Raikkonen, one of Sebastian Vettel's teammates during his time with Ferrari.

Vettel praised the 'The Iceman' whole-heartedly, speaking about how good he was at racing in general, not just in F1. Sebastian Vettel said:

"Kimi [Raikkonen] is the most talented driver I've ever met. His raw pace of him is by far the best thing about him, and it doesn't just show in Formula 1 cars.

He further added:

"If there were a category in which the drivers had to drive a different vehicle every day, Kimi would beat everyone after ten days. It doesn't take him long to get used to a car or to adapt to its characteristics."

Sebastian Vettel (Left) and Kimi Raikkonen (Right) before the 2019 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Image via Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Sebastian Vettel further talked about his close relationship with the Finn. He explained how they hardly fought over incidents that happened between them at Ferrari. Since both were quite straightforward in their discussions, they quickly cleared the problems between them and moved on. Vettel especially appreciated the fact that Kimi Raikkonen was direct and expressed his situation accurately.

The German said:

"I think that with him I had the best relationship of my teammates because he was very direct. We never argued, not even when we were in an accident, we talked about what had happened, which of us was wrong, and we even laughed."

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Sebastian Vettel supported Daniel Ricciardo during 2022 F1 woes

Daniel Ricciardo is also one of the drivers on the grid who will be leaving the sport after the 2022 F1 season. He struggled quite a lot during his time at McLaren and failed to keep up with his teammate, Lando Norris.

Looking back at the season, the Australian highly appreciated Sebastian Vettel for lending a hand of friendship and supporting him during his tough times. Daniel Ricciardo said:

"He's [Sebastian Vettel] picked up the phone multiple times this year, and just been a friend, and just like showing care, and just checking in as a true friend would do. And to have friends like that is so important. But it's also not that common, in terms of on the grid."

Ricciardo continued:

"We get on with drivers, and you do build friendships, but to have kind of that deeper level of friendship, and let's say some gestures he made this year, and some of the kindness he showed towards me was, in a way, kind of unexpected. But just super nice."

After Daniel Ricciardo leaves McLaren, Oscar Piastri will be joining the British team alongside Lando Norris for the 2023 F1 season.