Carlos Sainz paid tribute the the driver he replaces at Ferrari last year, Sebastian Vettel who announced his retirement from Formula 1 on Thursday ahead of the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix claiming no one speaks badly about the German.
Sebastian Vettel's greatest success is a distant memory but the four-time World Champion will leave Formula 1 at the end of this year with more fans than he had in his heyday.
Vettel won his last Title with Red Bull almost a decade ago while it has been nearly three years since the 35-year-old German, then at Ferrari, last won a race.
News on Thursday of his departure at the end of the season nonetheless triggered an outpouring of appreciation, with the Aston Martin driver hailed as a 'legend', 'inspiration', 'ambassador', 'one of the all-time greats and 'class act'.
"Everyone in the paddock loves him," Spaniard Carlos Sainz, a simulator driver at Red Bull when Vettel was chalking up back-to-back championship success with that team, told reporters at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Thursday.
"You will not hear someone speaking bad about Seb. I think this just speaks about his personality, his life as a human being not only as a driver," added the 27-year-old, who replaced the German at Ferrari last year.
Old rival and seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton said Vettel was "leaving this sport better than you found it which is always the goal."
"Such an inspiration and such a humble bloke," added the Briton’s Mercedes team mate George Russell.
The tone of the tributes reflected the transformation Vettel has undergone since making his F1 debut in 2007.
Vettel - A Hardcore Petrolhead
A hardcore 'petrolhead', lover of rock classics and keen student of the sport’s history, he once gave his cars names like 'Randy Mandy' and 'Kinky Kylie' and mourned the passing of the loud and gas-guzzling V10 era.
The father of three, married to his childhood sweetheart, is now outspoken on topics ranging from the environment and sustainability to LGBTQ+ rights.
He collects litter from the stands after races, cycles to work and has completed an internship in organic farming and creating a bee habitat.
The German even used sustainable fuel while conducting a demo run in Nigel Mansell’s 1992 British Grand Prix-winning Williams, which Vettel now owns, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of that triumph at Silverstone.
"I feel we live in very decisive times and how we all shape these next years will determine our lives," said Vettel in his retirement announcement.
"My (F1) passion comes with certain aspects that I’ve learned to dislike," he revealed.
In 2013 Vettel was seen by some as a 'villain', snatching victory from team mate Mark Webber in Malaysia in 2013 and swerving into Hamilton’s Mercedes in Baku in 2018.
He will leave as still the youngest world champion, his 53 wins placing him third in the all-time list led by Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, his boyhood hero. Only Schumacher, Hamilton and 1950s great Juan Manuel Fangio won more titles.
Max Verstappen: Vettel retiring is something you see coming
"He has achieved so much in the sport that it’s really understandable for him to retire," said Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen.
"He’s had an amazing career, he’s won a lot of races, he’s won a lot of championships as well ... he’s a great ambassador for the sport.
"To see him go is... it's something that you can see coming, everyone is getting older, at one point, everyone is retiring. And is of course, never nice when that moment arrives, especially, of course, for Seb's fans.
"But these things happen. And I think it's important now that he's just going to enjoy his life with the family, because F1 is such a short period of time in your life that you work so hard to achieve all these things he has achieved and now it's time to enjoy," the reigning F1 Champion explained.
Daniel Ricciardo: You're losing a bit of a legend of the sport
Vettel's former teammate at Red Bull over the 2014 season said: "It's in a way, sad of course, because you're losing a bit of a legend of the sport really.
"And yeah, I personally spent spend some time alongside him, which was, for sure, a privilege. So yeah, it's one of those ones: you're sad, but also happy for him now to start chapter two of his life.
"I learned a lot in 2014 alongside him, and even before that, you know, when I was a reserve driver and just being around the team and watching how he would work it was just always interesting," the Australian revealed.
"He had a lot of good traits and a way to get people behind him and rally but also, you know, be very direct and yeah, it was cool.
"Just a very, very driven individual. And, yeah, I think we'll obviously certainly miss him. But yeah, obviously wish him well," Ricciardo concluded.
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Reporting by Abhishek Takle, Additional reporting by GrandPrix247's Agnes Carlier
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