Vettel on F1 retirement regrets: ‘Maybe it would be easier if the car sucked'

Vettel called time on his F1 career at the end of 2022 following two lacklustre years with Aston Martin.

The German’s departure paved the way for Alonso’s arrival at Aston Martin.

Alonso’s decision to leave Alpine for Aston Martin proved to be inspired given their rapid improvement over the winter.

Alonso scored six podiums in the opening eight races, often posing the biggest threat to Max Verstappen and Red Bull.

While their form has slipped in recent races, it’s still been a remarkable season for Aston Martin.

Vettel - who has made very few public appearances since retiring - revealed he’s still “very interested” in the sport.

“I'm still very interested in F1,” Vettel told The Red Bulletin. “It was a bit strange at the first race but now I enjoy watching it. I know the sport inside out, I still love it.

“Maybe I see certain things differently, but I'm not sad when I look at my former colleagues, not at all. People's initial reaction was 'That Aston Martin is fast this season must do something to you, right?'

“Ok, maybe it would be easier if the car totally sucked so I wouldn't have missed anything, but I'm mostly happy for the team and I'm happy for Fernando Alonso. For years he didn't have a car in which he could show his qualities. Now he can and he's immediately at the front. 

“Red Bull dominates and I still have a lot of friends there. I am very happy when they win.”