"Just now, you calling me 'sir.'": When Sebastian Vettel gave a witty reply to a journalist asking him when he realized he was a good racer

Sebastian Vettel once had a witty response to a journalist asking him when he realized he was a great racing driver. His reply pleasantly surprised the journalist as the rest of the audience too broke into laughter.

Vettel was at the top of Formula One from 2010 to 2013, winning four consecutive World Championships with Red Bull. He dominated the field against rivals including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Jenson Button, cementing himself as one of the best racers in history.

Appearing in a Q&A session with reporters during his last championship run in 2013, Vettel was asked about realizing that he'd become a great F1 driver. He was quick to catch that the journalist started his question by addressing him as 'sir.'

The German driver replied:

"Just now, you calling me 'sir.' Yeah, must've done something right then."

Here is a clip of this interaction that recently surfaced on X:

After his last Championship year, Vettel and Red Bull struggled at the start of the hybrid era, when Mercedes took charge and dominated the field. The German went to Ferrari to realize his dream of winning another title with the Italian giants. However, he failed to do so as his performance dipped.

In his last F1 stint, Vettel raced with Aston Martin in 2021 and 2022 before retiring from the sport. As of now, there have been several rumors and speculations of his return to the grid, but he has not confirmed or announced anything related to the possibility.

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Sebastian Vettel names Fernando Alonsas as his 'hardest' competitor

Former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel recently named Fernando Alonso as his toughest challenger during his racing years.

Participating in a quickfire round with Talksport, Vettel was asked who his hardest competitor was. The four-time World Champion thought for a moment before picking Alonso. He explained how he and the Spaniard had several close battles for race wins and Championships.

"Fernando. I had close Championships and close calls with him throughout my career. Generally, he's the sort of driver who's always there, very competitive. I think he was the hardest competitor I faced," Vettel said.

In 2010, 2012 and 2013, it was Alonso who secured P2 on the Drivers' Championship table, giving Vettel a strong fight throughout his Championship-winning seasons.

In 2010, Alonso was only four points behind Vettel. In 2012, he was three points behind the then-Red Bull driver. In 2013, they had a large gap between them since Alonso was 155 points behind.