Four-time Formula 1 champion Sebastian Vettel has opened up about how he dealt with the lows of the championship, admitting that there is no single recipe for dealing with pressure.
The German driver made his F1 debut in 2007. He secured four consecutive championship titles between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull and celebrated 53 race wins, 122 podium finishes and 57 pole positions throughout his career. After retiring at the end of the 2022 season, Vettel has been working on raising awareness about environmental and social issues.
“I think it’s very unique. There’s no one recipe that works for all,” Vettel told Entrepreneur Middle East when asked about dealing with both the mental and physical aspects of F1.
“Everybody is different. Everybody performs differently. Everybody needs a different environment to perform. But if you talk about pressure and how you deal with nervousness or the expectations, I think you need to be open-minded by asking yourself why you experience the feeling of nervousness now and you didn’t a day before, for example.
“What’s bad about it when it is taking over? How you maybe learn to control it. Often people say, ‘I wish I wasn’t nervous.’ But actually, nervousness is good. You need that because it also means you’re ready, you’re excited and you can use that and channel that in a positive way.
“So that’s what I meant in terms of it’s very individual, but I think don’t be shy in asking yourself why you are feeling like that, what you might be lacking right now, the environment around you, what makes you feel comfortable. Trying to establish more of what makes you feel comfortable and at peace, to then be able to perform and maybe eliminate the things that are less good or challenge them.”
Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull Motorsport Consultant, Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Patrik Lundin / Motorsport Images
Vettel added that he learnt a lot about how to deal with difficult moments from his time in F1, which he has carried through to his career following his retirement from racing.
“Even within a season, you have the highs and lows. You have to move on. You have to move forward. There’s a lot of things that go against you and don’t go your way. Even though from the outside it might look like, ‘Oh, everything’s happening at ease’. It’s never like that.
“There’s a lot of obstacles in your way, a lot of challenges that people don’t see but you have to deal with it. It’s a great school for what has come after.”
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