When Sebastian Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 Formula 1 season, the pain of parting in the paddock was great. The entire paddock came together to celebrate the four-time World Champion once again, showing the impact he had made as a driver and as a person.
For many he was a role model, for some a friend. But only one of the active drivers in Formula 1 knows the private phone number of the German. At least that’s what Stoffel Vandoorne says, who will be the test driver in Vettel’s former Aston Martin team in 2023.
As ‘RTL’ reports, the Belgian is said to have asked Fernando Alonso for Vettel’s number at the end of 2022 in order to say goodbye and wish him all the best for his future. But Alonso replied: “I don’t have his number. Only Lewis (Hamilton; editor’s note) has his number.”
In addition to their passion for racing, Hamilton and Vettel shared above all their social commitment, in which they repeatedly encouraged each other. It is not for nothing that Hamilton described the German as “an ally within the sport”.
“I hope we will always be friends. And I hope we can do other things together outside of racing,” he said of Vettel’s retirement last year. With his number, it should at least be easier for him than for some of his fellow drivers.
However, it can be assumed that not only Hamilton knows Vettel’s private phone number. That should also apply to Mick Schumacher, for whom Vettel was not only a friend but also a mentor.
However, Schumacher will no longer be a regular driver in 2023, so strictly speaking it is not part of the starting line-up.
Schumacher lost his cockpit at Haas at the end of 2022, but will remain part of the paddock this year as a Mercedes reservist.
Vettel hopes that his young compatriot will make it back into a regular cockpit: Of course I hope that he will succeed. Because of the potential he belongs there (in Formula 1; editor’s note).”
This article was written by Juliane Ziegengeist
Patrick Esume says goodbye to the TV crew after the end of the NFL at Ran in Munich. Esume was live for the last time in the ProSieben TV studio on Sunday. The NFL will run on RTL in the future. The future of Esume is still unclear.
FC Bayern lands a real cracker at the end of the transfer ticker. Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo is likely to be loaned out for the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Union Berlin is causing a stir with five-time Champions League winner and ex-Real star Isco. All news about the transfer deadline in the ticker.
The original of this post “Fernando Alonso: “Only Lewis has Sebastian’s phone number” ” comes from Motorsport-Total.com.
