Sebastian Vettel opens up about the 'emotional price' he paid of being associated with Ferrari 

When Sebastian Vettel moved from Red Bull to Ferrari in 2015, F1 fans were eager to see the German succeed and win more world titles. Unfortunately, that was not the case, as Vettel was only able to win a few races and no world championships.

In an exclusive interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Sebastian Vettel opened up about his time at Ferrari and how his own expectations and pressure became a burden. Though he was unable to win any silverware with the Italian team, he still feels happy and content with what he accomplished with them. Vettel said:

"I paid the emotional price in my 5 years at Ferrari. I never felt extra pressure when I was a Ferrari driver, I felt pressured by my own expectations and wanting to be successful here. There are many reasons why I didn't succeed, why what I did might not have worked, but I'm still very happy and at peace with what we've accomplished. But of course, looking back, it took some time to recover."

Sebastian Vettel then expressed how he has a strong emotional connection with Ferrari and Italy in general, saying:

"I had a lot of fun with the team. I think I have a very strong emotional connection with Italy, with the Italian people, and with Ferrari as a brand. It was a privilege to race for Ferrari, and we had some great times together. There are so many memories and so many friends I've made that I'll keep forever. I failed in terms of numbers and statistics because my goal was to win the world championship and I didn't."

Sebastian Vettel's dream was to drive and win for Ferrari, just like his childhood hero, Michael Schumacher. Though he was only able to accomplish one part of that dream, he does not regret his time with the Italian outfit.

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Sebastian Vettel would be surprised if he is good at anything apart from driving in F1

After Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement, he spoke about other work opportunities outside F1. Since the German has been a racing driver all his life, he wasn't sure if he would be good at anything else.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Vettel explained that he will start learning new things from scratch and not apply the champion mentality everywhere, saying:

"You never know, but I think it would be a miracle if I was [as good at something else], because obviously I've done this my entire life. I haven't had much time to do much else. I have no degree! So I cannot expect [that of] myself, and I think it would be the wrong approach to say that, 'Yeah, I'm a champion, I'm going be a champion at everything else that I touch.' I think that's not a realistic approach for me. Whatever it is [that I do next], then I'm starting from scratch."

After the 2022 F1 season, Sebastian Vettel left Aston Martin and retired from the sport. Consequently, Fernando Alonso left Alpine and took Vettel's place at the Silverstone-based outfit.