On the eve of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel’s former team boss Otmar Szafnauer spoke about the German’s retirement and had some interesting stories to tell. Szafnauer regrets having missed seeing Vettel switch to Honda back in the day.
“He’s a super guy,” says the Alpine team boss, who worked with Vettel at Aston Martin the year before. “I called him [after his retirement] and wished him the best for the future.”
“He is retiring now but I am sure he will do something else that is worthy and rewarding. But when you get to know him as a person, he is an amazing person, with a big heart,” Szafnauer said.
Asked about his best stories with Vettel, Szafnauer elaborates, “I’ve known him since he was 18 or 19. I was at Honda Racing and Seb came to me and said, ‘I have a two-week window where I’m out of contract with both Red Bull and BMW’. So are you guys interested in signing me?'”
“He was an unknown quantity at the time, but I was like, ‘Yeah, this kid is good. Two weeks window!’ So I went to Gil de Ferran [then sporting director at Honda] and said, ‘We have a two-week window to sign Seb Vettel!'”
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“He said to me, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got my eye on him.’ And I said, ‘What do you mean you have your eye on him? We have two weeks!’ Anyway, we didn’t sign him then,” Szafnauer regrets.
“But I have another good story with Vettel, and this time a good one,” the Alpine team boss continues.
“During the COVID period he felt more comfortable not going to a hotel where he could have caught COVID than when he was at our house in England because everyone was tested every day so everyone knew we were COVID-free.”
“And every time he came to our house, he would bring home-made bread that he had baked in Switzerland, in this little bag that he had with him. And I remember the first time I saw that the kids were all looking.”
“They loved Seb’s homemade bread more than anything. So every time he came, he had to bring his home-baked bread. But brilliant! I mean, who else does that?” enthuses Szafnauer. “It was white bread, which looked braided and was just delicious.”
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