Christian Horner revealed details about Sebastian Vettel's early days with Red Bull as he paid tribute to the retiring Formula 1 icon.
Vettel confirmed on Thursday that this season will be his last in the sport as he plans to spend more time with family. He departs as one of F1's most successful drivers ever, with 53 race wins to his name and four world titles in as many years between 2010 and 2013.
Those championship successes came at his peak with Red Bull, where he played an integral role in transforming the team from the ambitious upstarts of the paddock to the dominant force in the sport.
Remembering those times, team chief Horner revealed details of how Vettel landed a place with Red Bull in the first place, and how he endeared himself to everyone at the team. "Sebastian, in his time with us, was incredible," he told reporters in Budapest.
"He came as a junior, he wrote a letter to Red Bull to see if they would support him, you know, locally, and, out of that came support from the local market, and then from the group, and then through the junior programmes, through Toro Rosso, and then into Red Bull Racing.
"I think the thing that stood out about Seb, was from the very beginning, you could see he was a very focused young man, and his work ethic was totally Germanic. He worked hard, he worked late, and he had a great sense of humour, so fitting into a British team, he embraced the culture immediately.
"He endeared himself across all areas of the business, whether he was turning up with chocolates for secretaries or learning the lingo in the garage – in a slightly different way to Yuki – but his commandment of cockney slang became legendary. His ability to just relate to people and get the best out of people.
"And he was formidable in the cars that we produced in that period of time. They were, again, halcyon days in Formula 1: massive competitors, big teams that we were up against, and some outstanding successes. He, at that stage, was very focused on achieving, not just success, but achieving and going for records. They meant a lot to him.
"He was a pleasure for us to have in our team... Whilst his Formula 1 career comes to an end, he's got a lot that I'm sure he wants to do in his life. And I'm sure he's going to go on and do some great things. But it'll be sad not to see him around. But I think the timing is right for him. It's not nice to see him running around in the middle of the field, he doesn't deserve to be there. And I think the time is right for him to say, 'now's the time for me to call time on Formula 1'."
