"I did miss my seat belt" - Sebastian Vettel on his new venture as the owner of the German team in Sail GP

F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi
Sebastian Vettel walks in the paddock prior to the 2022 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel recently shared his experience of participating in the Sail GP with his own team, which he partly acquired a few months ago. Of course, the four-time F1 world champion is well versed in the concept of racing and working with a team, but it was quite a unique experience for the German since the race was on water rather than the tarmac.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sebastian Vettel explained how massively different speed perception in water is from speed on the road. He also stated how he experienced working with a team in a new way as they were making decisions on the fly during the Sail GP. He said:

"Well it was great, I did not know what to expect to be honest. But it was impressive in many ways. First of all the speed on water, it's you know, different perception for speeds. But then the G-forces, the cornering...but also to see the crew, you know, communicating to each other, preparing for the next move while still trying to optimize the current course.
"Yeah, also at some point [there is] not much time before you gotta make a decision or before you got to make the turn so, that was very impressive to feel it from the inside."

Sebastian Vettel stated how thrilling it felt at the beginning, especially when it came to quickly maneuvering the boat. He humorously stated how he missed a seat belt and the seat, something he was used to while racing of any kind.

He concluded:

"For sure, it is very different to racing, I mean I did miss my seat belt and my seat. So it was a bit adventurous at the beginning...the changing sides, gotta aim for the little hole to jump into. But, yeah, I did get used to that part, the first couple of times was, a bit, I would not say scary, but just very, very unsual."

Sebastian Vettel's views on Max Verstappen's dominance and Sergio Perez's inability to compete with him

Sebastian Vettel knows well enough how it feels to lead the championship for several years and dominate the sport. He recently praised Max Verstappen for dominating F1.

The former F1 driver also shared his thoughts on Sergio Perez and explained how quickly a driver can lose the title battle if the opposition is as strong as Verstappen. Though he emphasized that Checo is not a poor driver in any way, he simply underlined Verstappen's unprecedented consistency.

Speaking at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Sebastian Vettel said:

"From the driver’s point of view, you have to give it to him – [Max is] doing an incredible job. He’s an incredible talent, and he’s not doing any mistakes. I mean, Sergio [Perez] is not a bad driver but do you see how quickly things can go wrong?"

Max Verstappen is comfortably leading the drivers' championship at the moment with 281 points, while Sergio Perez is in second place with 171 points.

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