Vettel confesses: 'I considered quitting after Hubert's fatal accident'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Sebastian Vettel will be a guest at the Imola circuit this weekend, where the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix will be held on Sunday. The German is present partly because of the commemorations for Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, who died in accidents at the Imola GP 30 years ago.
Although motorsport has become much safer in recent decades, there are still fatal accidents - although thankfully sporadic. During his career, Vettel also faced death several times. "Obviously you were aware of the danger of motorsport," the German said in Imola on Thursday. "But death wasn't really around [during my time in F1] and then you have that accident with Jules Bianchi paying the price with his life. It throws up a lot of questions, and obviously if you look at what happened and was implemented after that."
Vettel considered retirement from Formula One earlier
Vettel has not forgotten that weekend in 2014. Later in Vettel's career, Anthoine Hubert also lost his life. The Frenchman lost his life during an F2 race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. "I remember the phone calls talking to my wife and wondering what's the point of getting back in the car," he said.
But, Vettel soon thought: "But ultimately, it's what I loved, and I decided to race," said the German, who has since retired from F1. There are still rumours of a Vettel comeback, for example, in the World Endurance Championship, but for now, he is holding off.