Sebastian Vettel has had a sensational Formula 1 career so far, with 4 world championship titles to his name. According to him, credit goes to the racing legend, Michael Schumacher, who stood tall as the Red Bull world champion’s biggest inspiration.

During an interview, Vettel had even acknowledged having posters of Schumacher in his room. However, Vettel has now revealed that Schumacher is no longer his motivator. Instead, it’s Vettel’s former rival, Fernando Alonso.

The German pointed out that Alonso’s race at the Qatar Grand Prix was ‘super inspiring’ and helped him realize that he is still capable of doing his job if he has the right tools in hand.

What did Sebastian Vettel say?

During the Saudi Arabian GP press conference, Vettel affirmed that Schumacher was indeed his biggest motivator when he marched his way into F1. However, things have changed since then, with his latest inspiration revolving around Alonso.

“I don’t know. I think it can be drivers of past and present. Like Fernando had a super inspiring and great race last weekend. I was really happy to see him there. It’s a great motivation that you know you give us the right tools and the right moment and we can do our job,” he said.

“I think it is undisputed that Fernando has great qualities so that can be a motivator. Obviously, when I grew up it was Michael, so I think it is probably fair to say that Michael was my biggest inspiration to racing.”

Vettel talks about not having Schumacher’s posters

The Aston Martin driver revealed that he is starting to see things differently. Now, his biggest motivations are about specific individual performances, unlike the past where he pretty much stuck his focus entirely on Schumacher.

“Nowadays you see things a bit different. I don’t have posters of Michael in my room anymore. Like I said it can be standing out performances like Fernando’s last weekend or others,” Vettel concluded. 

By the looks of it, the level of respect Vettel carries for Alonso is enormous, even though they were once rivals. Will the two world champions motivate each other to produce more such ecstatic performances in the coming weeks? Well, let’s hope so!

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