Vettel scored 53 world championship grand prix victories from his 299 world championship starts and took four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull. He retired from F1 after finishing 10th for Aston Martin in November’s Abu Dhabi GP season finale.
The 35-year-old German received his Award, which recognises lifetime achievement in motorsport, from Autosport F1 reporter Luke Smith at the Autosport Awards at Grosvenor House on 4 December.
Asked what he would miss about racing, Vettel said: "What I love so much - initially I didn't get it because you're young, but I think the opportunity to work with so many people that are very passionate about what they do.
"I thought 10 years ago, 'That's normal, it's how everybody lives their lives'. But then I found out it's not normal and a lot of people don't have that privilege.
"You have so much motivation from the inside of you coming out and to meet so many skilled men and women along the way and have fun. There's so much that I took from these years."
Vettel said he was "not sure what's next for me, but I'm very excited about it", explaining that he was looking forward to spending some time with three children and wife.
"It's not that I hate Formula 1, I enjoyed the last couple of races, after the announcement it was a big weight off my shoulders because it's been a whole that this sport was in my head and I'm very much looking forward to giving the time that I got when I as that age [to my children].
"My parents made so much time for me and I want to be there as well."
PLUS: Where Vettel stands in the list of F1 greats
Other awards decided by expert judging panels include the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, the Gold Medal for lifetime legacy, Motorsport Promoter of the Year, and Esports Team of the Year presented by Motorsport Games. Moment of the Year presented by Bang & Olufsen and Autosport Williams Engineer of the Future are awards that have returned for 2022.
Further categories, which are decided by fan voting, include International Racing Driver of the Year presented by Pirelli, International Rally Driver of the Year, British Competition Driver of the Year, Rookie of the Year, International Racing Car of the Year presented by Blink Experience, Rally Car of the Year, National Driver of the Year and Esports Driver of the Year presented by Motorsport Games.
To find out who our other Award winners are, go to autosport.com/awards
