«Over the past 15 years I have had the privilege of working with many great people in Formula 1, too many to be mentioned and thanked. I have been driving for Aston Martin for the past two years and I hope the work I have done in last year and continue to do so this year will help develop a team that will win in the future. The decision to retire was a difficult one for me and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. At the end of the year, I want to take some more time to think about what I will focus on in the future. It is very clear to me that as a father I want to spend more time with my family», said the 35-year-old Vettel.

During his career, Vettel won the Formula 1 championship four times (2010-2013), won 53 races and climbed the podium 122 times. In terms of the number of victories, he is second only to Briton Lewis Hamilton (103) and German Michael Schumacher (91).

This season, Vettel is 14th in the driver's standings with 15 points, while his Aston Martin is ninth and penultimate in the Constructors Championship.