Sebastian Vettel's F1 history – all his highs and lows

“He endeared himself across all areas of the business, whether it was turning up with chocolates for secretaries or learning the lingo in the garage. His command of cockney slang became legendary. His ability to just relate to people and get the best out of them was great. And he was formidable in the cars that we produced in that period of time.”

A man who came to know all about that was Webber, himself yet to win a GP at the beginning of ‘09. Over the winter, Mark badly broke a leg when a bicycle he was riding in his own Tasmanian Challenge charity event was hit by a car just as he was about to get his hands on a new-rules Adrian Newey machine and go head-to-head with Vettel.

It could have torpedoed the career of a lesser man and it is to Webber’s great credit that he rose to the challenge, taking his first win at Nürburgring in ’09 and being a big enough thorn in Vettel’s side for the rivalry to become spiky, in 2010 particularly.

It says much about both men that they were able to co-exist in that Red Bull environment for five years. The reason is that while both are hugely competitive individuals, they are both fundamentally decent fellows. While Webber often felt that Red Bull was “Seb’s team” – the “not bad for a No2 driver” Silverstone win and the Malaysia ‘Multi 21’ incidents spring immediately to mind – and admitted that sometimes Vettel got under his skin, he couldn’t find it within himself to properly dislike him. “He’s basically a decent guy and I like his family…” Mark said.

Horner again: “They were halcyon days: massive competitors, big teams that we were up against, and some outstanding successes. Sebastian, at that stage, was very focused on achieving. Not just success, but going for and achieving records. They meant a lot to him.

“The fans did as well. I remember just seeing him collect every bit of memorabilia and gift he was given in Japan… Some of them were slightly weird but he kept absolutely everything, insisted on taking everything home. He was a pleasure to have in our team and we achieved some great things together.

“He just got better and better. In 2009 we, like him, were a young team, and we made a few mistakes. In 2010, he was the stand-out driver that year, had a lot of unreliability and, against the odds, won the championship at the last round. In 2011 he built on that, then ’12 was a super-tough year. He’d only won one race before we left Europe. And then won, I think, four on the bounce to go head-to-head with Fernando in that final race in Brazil.

“But by the time we got to ’13, he just absolutely dominated and achieved those nine victories in succession. That, for me, was his pinnacle year: he brought everything together and was just truly outstanding.”

When Horner refers to Vettel being formidable in the cars that they produced at that time, he is talking in particular about the double and blown diffuser Red Bulls which Sebastian was able to make work in slow corners in a way that Webber sometimes couldn’t. In the quick stuff, like Barcelona Turn 9 and Copse at Silverstone, Mark was often quicker.

“Having watched him grow from a boy into a man, Sebastian is a very principled guy,” Horner says. “He has very strong beliefs. We’ve seen that in the latter stages of his career, very much standing up for things that he feels passionate about, and rightly so.

“His family is important to him and he’s a very private man. I’m so pleased to see he’s become an Instagramer recently! And while his Formula 1 career comes to an end, he’s got a lot that I’m sure he wants to do in his life. And I’m sure he’s going to go on and do some great things. It’ll be sad not to see him around, but I think the timing is right for him. It’s not nice to see him running around in the middle of the field, he doesn’t deserve to be there.”

With his beliefs and his eloquent appearance on BBC’s Question Time earlier this year, it’s easy to conclude that Vettel has maybe outgrown F1. Or at least as Horner says, outgrown trundling around in the midfield. Yes, his intelligence and genuine interest in world issues outside of racing mean that he surely won’t be bored. But what will sate those competitive desires?

Sometimes, the extent of them got the better of him over the radio, such as when he swore at the late Charlie Whiting. Top blokes both, Charlie appreciated where Vettel was coming from and cut him some slack. Something that may not have been the case with someone for whom Charlie had less respect. And Vettel, a bit sheepish, was quick to apologise.

He says he’s got no interest in being a pundit, like so many ex-Grand Prix drivers. But I wouldn’t mind betting he’ll end up badly missing something that has dominated his life for the past 15 years. He’s a genuine fan too, with deep knowledge of and interest in the sport. He says he wouldn’t make a TV expert, but I can’t think of too many who would be better. A great ambassador for the sport too, it might take a while, but I’d bet strong money he will grace the paddock further down the road.