"It’s a shame that he only won titles with Red Bull" - Sebastian Vettel not winning F1 championships with Ferrari is 'a bit of a shadow’

Former F1 driver Marc Surer feels it is unfortunate that Sebastian Vettel only won titles at Red Bull and not the other teams in his F1 career. The Swiss driver believes that the German was capable of winning many more titles and has had an exceptional career.

In an interview with the German publication Formel1, Surer said:

“Of course it’s a shame that he only won titles with Red Bull. It would have been nice if he had won another title with Ferrari, because that’s a bit of a shadow. Now you just say: Ok, that was just a good phase of Red Bull and he dusted everything off and then he couldn’t make it anymore. It’s kind of a shame.”

With all the championships won by Sebastian Vettel being in his tenure with Red Bull, Surer feels the German’s career has often been credited to the Milton Keynes team and its car. The Swiss driver, however, feels there are some exceptional races the German champion has won in his F1 career and some sensational drives which do make him one of the greats in the sport.

Adding further praise to the German’s career, Surer said:

“I mean, he really did something sensational. He also won races that you shouldn’t actually win. For me, that’s always the difference between a super driver and a good driver. If you don’t have the fastest car and still win the race, only very, very few can do that and Sebastian Vettel is one of them. That’s why I classify him as one of the really big ones.”

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Former F1 driver blames Aston Martin F1 team for Sebastian Vettel’s retirement from the sport

Marc Surer feels Aston Martin’s incompetent car is the reason behind Sebastian Vettel retiring from the sport. The Swiss driver feels that the gap between the German champion and Lance Stroll is evidence that the German can still win races. The former F1 driver, however, feels the tenure at Aston Martin might have killed the German’s motivation at every weekend.

Suggesting that the German is still capable of winning races, Surer said:

“Others struggled, even a [Sergio] Perez struggled against [Lance] Stroll. He [Sebastian Vettel] actually had Stroll easily under control, so yes if [Aston Martin] had driven further up front, it would have looked very different. Then he would have won races, and Stroll might have won the podium with no fuss. The distance to Stroll actually shows that he still has the speed. Whether the motivation was there every weekend is another question.”

Sebastian Vettel himself has admitted that winning races and fighting championships were key to him continuing in the sport. Although the German feels it is the right time to retire as he has other priorities, many feel the lack of opportunities to be competitive again has forced him into early retirement. The four-time world champion will be replaced by Fernando Alonso in the team for the 2023 season and beyond.