In the world of racing, Sebastian Vettel is currently the talk of the town. The four-time world champion announced his retirement with his first post on his newly created Instagram account. The shocking announcement makes one want to look back at all the great things the German world champion has achieved.

Vettel has won quite a lot during his career, but there is a lingering ‘What if?’ that plagues his career for some. The German astonishingly won four consecutive world championships during his Red Bull stint. However, his incredibly successful time at Red Bull ended early after a struggling 2014 season.

The German jumped ship and joined Scuderia Ferrari for the 2015 season, ending his Red Bull stint early. Vettel’s hasty decision to change teams even disappointed former CEO Bernie Ecclestone as per his comments from 2014.

“I’m a super supporter of Sebastian, but I’m a little bit disappointed with his attitude, which I think has changed,” said Ecclestone.

And added, “He’s acting like a defeated guy, and he isn’t – that’s not his mentality. He’s a competitive guy. He doesn’t like losing at backgammon. Unfortunately, when he plays me, he does.”

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Ecclestone’s comments were straightforward in his assessment of Vettel’s actions. However, the youngest winner of the World Drivers’ Championship was at the peak of his career, having already won four championships by the time he was 26. Every year spent not competing for the championship was a year wasted for Vettel.

Hence, the criticism from Ecclestone can be looked back at and reevaluated.

The career graph of Sebastian Vettel after his Ferrari switch

Following his switch to Ferrari from Red Bull, Vettel, arguably, could not live up to his potential. Following a disappointing 2014 with no wins to his name, the German had all the plans to turn things around at Ferrari.

First-year with Ferrari Vettel secured three wins and ten podium finishes, but that was only good enough for a third in the championship. At Ferrari, Vettel only became the closest rival to Mercedes and never really came close to winning a championship. His best time with Ferrari, the 2017 and 2018 seasons, saw the German take the runner-up spot in the championship.

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Vettel never finished higher than second after his 2013 title win and sadly we’ve already come to the end of his F1 career. However, despite the disappointing turn of events, his finger salute will always be remembered.