UNPUBLISHED SEBASTIAN VETTEL:

THAT TIME, AS A 4-TIME F1 WORLD CHAMPION, HE SPENT THE DAY ON A KART (AND THE NIGHT IN A CAMPER)

Of the many drivers I've met during my professional life in karting, Sebastian Vettel is certainly one of the most particular. No extravagance or sui generis character aspect. Indeed, a disarming simplicity. Both in his way of being and in relating to others. A lightness and genuineness that you hardly expect from someone who has won the Formula 1 world championship four times. And then there is that infinite passion for motor vehicles. Whether it's a vintage car, a motorcycle, a kart or a latest generation racing car, rest assured that Seb has something to say or, if not, something to ask because, moreover, he is really curious. To make you understand what kind of person he is, a story comes to mind: a day spent in his company, full of anecdotes that perfectly match his personality. It's April 2014 and Sebastian had called the OTK Kart Group, the company I worked for at the time, asking if it would be possible to drive a kart. The 2014 Formula 1 season had just begun and Red Bull seemed "not to be going well", so the air in the team, after 4 years full of successes, had become a little heavy. Maybe a little too much for a sunny character like his. He told us that he wanted to break away and have some fun on a kart. We, for our part, could not fail to please him. So we agreed that he could join the tests of the Tony Kart Racing Team, on the 28th and 29th of that month at the South Garda Karting circuit. No sooner said than done.