Sebastian Vettel has announced his retirement at the conclusion of the current season, calling it a day on his illustrious career.

One of the all-time greats, no one can question his place on that list after an incredible career saw him win four world titles in four consecutive years in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 with Red Bull.

He came close to a adding to his tally when at Ferrari, although his old foe Lewis Hamilton was on hand to prevent him adding further triumphs.

The pair have been battling it out on track for the majority of their careers, giving us incredible entertainment.

Whether it be Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari or Mercedes, both Vettel and Hamilton have been hard to stop on track, winning 9 out of 10 titles from 2010-2019, but the pair remained good friends away from the track.

Both have incredible mutual respect for one another and that has always been on show whilst racing all these years.

There has been the odd altercation, such as Vettel’s penalty costing him the win at Canada to Hamilton where he moved the signs in parc ferme to show his disapproval.

Vettel takes the win over Hamilton...

However, the respect between the two is unrivalled. As soon as Hamilton won his seventh world crown at Turkey in 2020, Vettel was straight on hand to congratulate his friend and rival.

Similarly, he was seen consoling Hamilton after the Abu Dhabi fallout last season, proving to be a great friend to his fellow champion in the toughest of moments.

It’s come as no shock to see an outpouring of respect and admiration for Vettel all across social media, with Hamilton joining in, sending a classy message.

The seven-time world champion tweeted the following message of support to Vettel: “Seb, it’s been an honour to call you a competitor and an even greater honour to call you my friend. Leavinf this sport better than you found it is always the goal. I have no doubt that whatever comes next for you will be exciting, meaningful and rewarding. Love you, man.”

Classy as ever from Hamilton who shares similar principles to Vettel on a personal level, with both making their feelings on global and political issues known.

They’ve stood side by side when speaking out on the issues faced in countries they travel to for racing, whether that be human rights problems in the Middle East or homophobia in Eastern Europe.