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Sebastian Vettel has announced his retirement from F1 and what he leaves behind is a legacy of being a class act on and off the track. When the German finally takes off his helmet and hangs his gloves this season, he will leave as one of the most liked drivers on the paddock.
Having said that, this doesn't mean that during his 15-year-long career there weren't moments when the German rubbed someone the wrong way. Oh, there were quite a few and in this piece, we will take a look back at some of the top controversies of Vettel's career.
#5 Sebastian Vettel crashing into Mark Webber (2007 F1 Japanese GP)
It was 2007 and the F1 world was in awe of a young rookie taking over at the front. That young rookie was Lewis Hamilton driving a McLaren. There, however, was also this scrawny German kid who was allowed to debut in a Toro Rosso in the midfield.
At the F1 Japanese GP that season, torrential weather meant Hamilton was leading the field at the front. His competitor Fernando Alonso had crashed out in those conditions and the top 5 in the race included an unfancied Mark Webber in a Red Bull and behind him, a very young Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso.
Vettel was impressing everyone with his skills in the wet but got caught out due to his inexperience in driving behind the safety car. Torrential conditions and the safety car forced him into a mistake because of which he ended up crashing into the back of Webber.
Vettel was distraught with what had happened and Webber was furious at the German for costing both of them valuable points. (Who would've known, this was the start of a rather frosty relationship between the two?)
#4 'Crash Kid' Sebastian Vettel (2010 F1 Belgian GP)
Sebastian Vettel had impressed everyone and graduated to Red Bull for the 2009 F1 season where he finished runners-up behind Jenson Button's dominant Brawn GP. For the 2010 F1 season, Vettel was armed with a strong car capable of challenging for wins and podiums on an every race basis.
Vettel, however, was still inexperienced, which resulted in unforced errors during wheel-to-wheel battles. One such notable incident was in the 2010 F1 Turkish GP where he crashed into Mark Webber and took both drivers out of the race. Things reached a boiling point at the 2022 F1 Belgian GP where an impetuous move on Jenson Button at the Bus Stop Chicane caused immense damage to both the cars.
It was after this race that Vettel was called out as a "Crash Kid" in the media by McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh.
#3 Multi-21, Seb! (2013 F1 Malaysian GP)
Arguably one of the most high-profile examples of a driver showing complete disregard for team orders! The year was 2013. Sebastian Vettel was already a 3-time World Champion and was second in the race behind his teammate Mark Webber.
With a handful of laps left in the race, Red Bull called off the battle at the front between the two drivers with the message 'Multi-21'. A message that meant #2 Car (Webber) will finish the race ahead of #1 Car (Vettel). As it turned out, Vettel did not follow the team orders, caught Webber unawares, and passed him to win the race.
#2 Wheel banging with Lewis Hamilton (2017 F1 Azerbaijan GP)
The 2017 F1 Championship saw an intense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. In Baku, things got a bit out of hand when during a safety car period, Hamilton braked hard and Vettel ran into the back of him.
That was not all, however, as the incident angered Sebastian Vettel so much that he thought it was a deliberate brake test by the Mercedes. In retaliation, the German would get alongside Hamilton and ram his wheel into the side of the latter's car.
Vettel received only a penalty but escaped calls to disqualify him for voluntarily hitting another car.
#1 Swapping signs in parc fermé (2019 F1 Canadian GP)
This one has to be one that got away from Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari. The German was leading the race and expertly fending off Lewis Hamilton's fast-charging Mercedes. The Mercedes driver applied just enough pressure to force Vettel into a mistake at Turn 3, who ran through the grass and ultimately joined the track just in front of Hamilton.
It was quite clear that Vettel did not have anywhere else to go and had no control over the car. Stewards, however, did not see it that way, and handed the Ferrari driver a 5-second penalty, virtually handing the race to Hamilton.
Vettel was angry at what happened and went to the stewards' room right after the race to talk to them. Not only that, but he picked up the #1 sign in parc fermé in front of the Mercedes and placed it in front of his Ferrari.
