Sebastian Vettel once said: “Everyone is a Ferrari fan. Even if they say they’re not, they are Ferrari fans.” As true as that may be—because who didn’t like watching Ferrari do well in Monza in front of the Tifosi—there’s a more accurate version of what the four-time champion said. “Everyone is a Sebastian Vettel fan. Even if they say they’re not, they are Sebastian Vettel fans.” If you aren’t convinced, Red Bull’s original golden boy, Vettel’s support for its current golden boy, Max Verstappen, might just tip your scales in the four-time champion’s favor.

Verstappen is at a point in his career where—much like what Vettel did in his Red Bull days—no other driver can match his level of performance. As the reigning world champion in the fastest car on the grid, he’s rewriting what dominance means in the Formula 1 history books. After what he achieved at the Italian GP last weekend, his decade-old Red Bull predecessor gave him valuable advice.

Sebastian Vettel congratulated Max Verstappen as he rewrote his history

Rewind to the 2013 season. F1 returns after the summer break to cap off the last nine races of the season. Vettel, in his Red Bull, returned with the determination to win his fourth-consecutive title and, with it, wiped the entire field by winning all nine races. Since then, repeating that feat has seemed close to impossible. Until 2023. Going into the Italian GP, the Milton-Keynes outfit had won all 14 races, with Verstappen gunning to beat Vettel’s nine-race-win streak. And he did.

Considering the decade-old record had Vettel written all over it, you would’ve thought the German driver would’ve wanted to retain the record. Well, that wasn’t the case. In classy Vettel fashion, “After five wins in a row, Seb texted me and said well done with what you are doing, keep it up, and you are going to do it,” Verstappen revealed. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even said, “[Vettel] recently sent me a message saying that we should aim for twelve consecutive victories so that the record remains in our hands forever.” The four-time champion still considers Red Bull his family, just as much as Red Bull considers him its very own. 

As Verstappen revels in his success, the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Vettel sent a congratulatory message to the two-time champion as soon as he broke his record “to tell him that he is happy for the current World Championship leader and that Verstappen should continue to enjoy his success.” [Translated by Google]

Read More: “I Couldn’t Do in My Dominant Period”: Sebastian Vettel Bows Down to Max Verstappen’s “Perfection” While Naming 3 Differentiating Factors Between Eras

No matter how dominant a driver is, domination will always come to an end. Vettel feels it’s important for Verstappen to take in all of it while it lasts. While the Dutchman will surely be aiming for that 12th victory Vettel talked about, Helmut Marko revealed Verstappen’s state of mind while on the brink of history.

Max Verstappen denies Helmut Marko’s “tense” claims 

With nine consecutive wins already under his belt, the Italian GP—where Vettel won his first-ever race—was where Verstappen got the chance to solidify his name even more than it already is in the record books. Even though he couldn’t secure pole position, he started second, bided his time, and overtook Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for the lead. From there on, he didn’t look back and cruised to a 10th consecutive win.

After the race, Helmut Marko said, “Max was quite tense anyway. For him, the tenth win was something very important, and then we also had the crew working with Sebastian Vettel before.” Despite a new record being on the line, Verstappen revealed how he wasn’t tense at all. He said, “No, I wasn’t nervous at all. Maybe Helmut likes to say that. I was actually very relaxed this whole weekend.” 

Is there any driver as classy as Sebastian Vettel, and is there any driver who could be as cool-headed as Max Verstappen with so much at stake?

WATCH THIS STORY | Sergio Perez Caught in the Crossfire as Sebastian Vettel Dismisses All Attempts to Downplay Verstappen’s Dominance