Sebastian Vettel made one of his Aston Martin colleagues go "very red" with a heartfelt goodbye message over team radio.
The German will retire from the sport at the end of the season but is not the only member of staff leaving the team. The Hungarian Grand Prix was the last race of their head of race strategy Bernadette Collins.
Aston Martin announced that news on social media to give fans the chance to send their well-wishes, and Vettel was keen to do the same. At the end of the race in Budapest, as he parked his car, he sent her a special personal message of his own.
"Can Bernie hear me?" asked the racer before being told that Collins was indeed listening to the radio. So he continued: "I nearly forgot. Thank you very much, Bernie. Thank you... I was only there for two years – one and a half – with you, but it's been good fun and you're a great person. Thank you, big kiss, all the best."
That lovely message was clearly well received, as his race engineer replied with a chuckle: "She's gone very red, Sebastian."
Announcing her departure, Aston Martin said: "The Hungarian GP marks our head of race strategy Bernie Collins' last race with the team. An incredible teammate and a true inspiration to women in motorsport. She will be missed and we wish her the very best for the future."
Fans also paid tribute, as @LiamTS518 wrote: "Aww noo!!! Thanks for everything @bernie_collins1 you've made so many amazing strategy calls during your time with the team! I'm sure you've been a inspiration to many women wanting to be in F1! Best of luck in the future Bernie!"
@dimitrisqwerty said: "Goodbye, the work she did is an inspiration." And @deepalir added: "She's been such a shining example of a woman at the head of her area in F1. Hope she continues to soar in motorsport."
Collins is a Queen's University Belfast graduate in mechanical engineering and has worked in F1 for more than a decade. She first joined McLaren where she rose through the ranks to become a performance engineer, before switching to Force India, where she has remained until now as the team rebranded first as Racing Point and then as Aston Martin.
