Sebastian Vettel’s classy final Ferrari radio message, brilliant note to teammate

Sebastian Vettel carried a piece of paper with him the entire Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and read it out in his final Ferrari radio message.

Sebastian Vettel delivered two notes of absolute class in his final day with Ferrari. Photo: Streamable, Twitter.

Sebastian Vettel has left the Ferrari garage in scenes of raw emotion following his final drive at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Monday morning (AEDT).

Emotions were running high as Vettel wrote his final chapter with the team before he joins Racing Point next season when they are re-branded as Aston Martin, replacing departing Mexican Sergio Perez alongside Lance Stroll, son of team owner Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.

Vettel bowed out from his six-year stint with the Formula 1 giant having never achieved the world championship victory the team so desperately craves.

But none of that seemed to matter on Monday morning as Vettel left the team with a series of classy touches.

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Sebastian Vettel's classy message to Charles Leclerc.

It started before the race when he left a heart-felt message on the helmet of teammate Charles Leclerc.

“To Charles, you are the most talented driver I came across in 15 years of F1,” Vettel wrote.

“Don’t waste it. Whatever you do to be happy and smile. Thanks for everything.”

It continued after the race despite Ferrari enduring one of their worst results in recent years.

The German 33-year-old finished 14th, one place behind his teammate Leclerc, to conclude his worst season with the Italian team.

However, his heart was full as he crossed the line.

During his warm down lap, Vettel pulled a piece of paper from his racing suit and had one final emotional radio message to his team.

Vettel’s note reportedly included the lyrics to a song he sung to the team as he crawled around the Yas Marina Circuit.

After Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies jumped on the radio to thank Vettel “from the bottom of our hearts” — Vettel signed off with a personal thankyou to individuals in the Ferrari garage.

Sebastian Vettel pulled out a note and sung from it in his warm down lap. Photo: Streamable.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, thank you,” he said.

“All the mechanics, the whole garage.”

He had earlier burst into song to show his full appreciation for what the team did together.

“You know I like to sing sometimes, so I thought I’d sing you a song for the last time,” he said as he pulled out the note and begun singing a traditional Italian song, tailored to his team.

Vettel takes the mic after his swansong for @ScuderiaFerrari 🎤#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/z5vFJ5bK9v

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 13, 2020

“You’re the red team. Passionate, you’ll never give up. My stop is coming up. I loved being with you.

“I felt your magic. An extraordinary feeling. Boys, I thank you for having me. I’ll miss you.

“A greeting to all of you in Maranello. You deserve to be mentioned here and now I maybe, maybe will say goodbye.

“I wish the best for you. I wish you’ll be happy and even more you’ll be healthy.”

When he got back to the pits and hopped out his car, Vettel was spotted walking around the garage with a case of Heineken, handing out beers to anyone within a 20m radius.

It was the gold-standard for how to leave a team.

The Ferrari team applaud as Sebastian Vettel leaves the garage for his final race with the team.

He said in his final press conference that the team’s performance on the day should not even be mentioned.

“It was quite a bad race for us. We tried everything,” he said.

Before the race, the team gave Vettel a guard of honour as he walked to his car from the garage to the pit lane.

And after the race, he was presented with an enormous trophy by the team he represented and for whom he won 14 races.

“For sure, it was an emotional day with the mechanics waving goodbye on the grid,” he said.

“I felt there was a different dynamic. I am sad for the guys. I will miss them, but I’m happy to embark on a new journey.”

Leclerc will be joined by Carlos Sainz in 2021 as Ferrari tries to find a way to challenge Mercedes again.

— with AFP