Lewis Hamilton plans farewell dinner for Sebastian Vettel, all 20 drivers attend

Vettel has been ever present on the grid since 2007, and he is not only one of the most successful drivers in the sport's history, but also one of the most popular.

Sebastian Vettel's farewell dinner in Abu Dhabi. (Image: Twitter/Aston Martin F1 team)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Nov 18, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

All 20 current F1 drivers gathered for a dinner to say farewell to Sebastian Vettel, who is leaving the sport this weekend. Vettel has been ever present on the grid since 2007, and he is not only one of the most successful drivers in the sport’s history, but also one of the most popular. After his 2021 crash at Silverstone, Max Verstappen praised him for being caring, while Fernando Alonso dedicated his race helmet to his long-time rival this weekend.

In a plan initiated by Lewis Hamilton, all 20 drivers met for dinner before the first day of practise to bid farewell to their soon-to-be former colleague. During the press conference on Thursday, Vettel joked that he would be asking Alonso for advice on how to leave the sport.

“Maybe I should ask Fernando!” Vettel said when asked how he would feel come Sunday evening. “He went through it already, he will go through it again, I guess at some point. But I feel okay. I mean, obviously, I guess after so many years and races, there’s the routine of those days, but I think it’s difficult in a way to grasp but I’m aware of what’s happening and I’m happy about it. So as far as I can be.”

When asked to pick the one greatest highlight of his career, the four-time world champion said, “I don’t think it works that way. I don’t think it’s fair to pick one. I obviously can’t speak for an hour now and I don’t really want to but I think that I’ve been lucky that there’s been so many moments to choose from.”

“It’s impossible to remember everything after so many years. I guess that the first in a way always stand out but I think every time had its highlights. I also enjoy the last two years even though from a sporting point of view, maybe they weren’t really a highlight there was nothing to celebrate no success in this regard. Still, I think I learned a lot, I think I progressed, I grew and had a good time together with a team so we didn’t get the reward on track but still I don’t think it’s fair to pick only one race or one moment,” he added.