Updated November 16th, 2022 at 22:03 IST

Sebastian Vettel reveals his favourite F1 teammate ahead of final career race in Abu Dhabi

Ahead of the final race of his career in Abu Dhabi, 4-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel opened up on his biggest rivalries and his best teammates in the sport.

Reported by: Vidit Dhawan
Image: AP | Image:self
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Four-time F1 Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel is all set to take part in the final race of his career in this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ahead of the race, the German driver opened up on his biggest rivalries and his best teammates in the sport. Over the years, the 35-year-old has teamed up with some of the very best that include the likes of 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Webber, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc. Amongst all his teammates, he revealed Raikkonen to be his favourite.

Vettel explains why Raikkonen was his favourite teammate

While speaking in the latest episode of F1's Beyond The Grid, Sebastian Vettel opened up on his relationship with former Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen by stating, "I think with him, I probably had the best relationship out of all the teammates I had, because he was just so straightforward. There was never an argument. If we crashed into each other we talked about it, fixed what happened, maybe laughed about it."

"But there was never a question that anything could sort of shake-up or destabilise the, I don’t want to say bond, but the relationship that we had. He’s probably also the one when I came in, I remember, he was so respectful from the day I walked in, looking into my eyes. With other drivers, I felt, 'OK I’m shaking hands, I’m saying hello, but actually the guy’s not present, he’s not here'. With people, I think Kimi’s been exceptional," added Vettel.

Vettel's praise for Raikkonen did not end there as he also hailed the Finn for being one of the greatest there have been in the sport. "I think Kimi [Raikkonen] is actually the biggest natural talent I’ve come across, ever. Just in terms of raw speed, I think. And it shows in the car, obviously, but it shows also in any other form of car. I think switching – if there was a discipline of switching cars every day – after 10 days he would be lapping everybody else, just because he's just a natural, it doesn’t take time to adapt to the car, to what the car requires," explained the German.

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Published November 16th, 2022 at 22:04 IST