Four-time Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel announced he will retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season.
In his 15-year F1 career, Vettel has won a total of 53 races and has been on the podium on 122 occasions.
The 35-year-old F1 driver stated that he chose to retire to spend more time with his family after years of racing.
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"The decision to retire has been difficult for me to take, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it. At the end of the year, I want to take some more time to think about what I will focus on next; it is very clear to me that, being a father, I want to spend more time with my family," Vettel said.
The 35-year-old German also won all four of his championships with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013.
He later joined Ferrari where he was not as successful having driven for the Italian team for six seasons. During his one-and-half season with Aston Martin, Vettel has only scored one podium.
"Over the past two years I have been an Aston Martin driver and, although our results have not been as good as we had hoped, it is very clear to me that everything is being put together that a team needs to race at the very highest level for years to come,” he further added.
Vettel is currently third on the Grand Prix winner list with 53 victories, behind Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll was full of gratitude to the German driver for his service.
He added that as a team they unsuccessfully tried to convince Vettel to extend his contract for a year.
“He has driven some fantastic races for us, and, behind the scenes, his experience and expertise with our engineers have been extremely valuable. He is one of the all-time greats of Formula 1, and it has been a privilege to have been able to work with him.
“He will continue to race for us up to and including the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will be his 300th Grand Prix entry. We will give him a fabulous send-off,” Stroll stated.
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