Sebastian Vettel says that it took a while for him to recover from his spell at the Ferrari Formula 1 team, which ended at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.
Vettel opted to join the Scuderia at the start of 2015 following several successful years at Red Bull.
The German was hopeful of emulating his hero Michael Schumacher and ending Ferrari’s title drought – however he left the squad without a fifth title in his hand.
Speaking to the Beyond the Grid podcast, Vettel says he placed pressure on himself to succeed at Ferrari.
“It was a toll as well,” Vettel said. “I mean, I think I never felt that sort of extra pressure being a Ferrari driver.
“If anything, I felt the extra pressure that I had, an expectation to myself that I want to succeed in this place, and I want to make this thing work.
“There are plenty of reasons why I didn’t [win a title], why it might not have worked but, in the end, I think I’m still very happy and at peace with what we achieved. But sure, looking back, it probably did take a while to sort of recover.
“I had a lot of fun. I think I have a very strong emotional connection to Italy, the people of Italy, and to Ferrari as a brand.
“It was a privilege to race for Ferrari and we had great moments together. So lots of memories that I will keep forever and lots of friends that I made.
“In terms of the numbers and statistics, I failed, because my target was to win the world championship and I didn’t.”
Vettel had difficult seasons in 2019 and 2020 that saw him beaten by team-mate Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship before he joined Aston Martin.
However, Vettel insists that he has no regrets regarding his stint at Ferrari.
“Ultimately Lewis [Hamilton] and Mercedes as a package were too strong for us and we didn’t beat them,” he said.
“But, the more time passes, the more I’m at peace with it if that makes sense.
“Living through the moment, I know that we did great things and that we did things also that weren’t great. In the end, there was somebody else out there that was just better at that time and deserved to win. So we came second a couple of times.
“But [I have] no regrets and lots of things that I learned, and I wouldn’t go back and change anything.”
Vettel retired from F1 at the end of the 2022 season.
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