#sebby!

14 years…

14 years… Well, nearly 15 years of excitement, happiness, stress, disappointments, hope and joy. I remember the first grand prix appearance, first pole position and win. I remember the day when he got his first world title like it was yesterday (even though this actually happened 12 years ago now). I remember the second title, the third and the fourth. I remember team changes. I remember all special races and moments - Malaysia, Monaco, Germany, Azerbaijan, Japan, Singapore, Brazil or Abu Dhabi - all for different reasons.

I remember the controversies. I remember the hatred and mockery that followed on public forums if you said that you supported him in F1.

I remember how much has changed and how much he changed.

Because of Sebastian Vettel, I decided one day that I want to become a journalist. I decided that this will be my career path just so I could perhaps interview him one day. I went through secondary school and high school with this thought in mind. I decided to learn French just because FIA is French. Then I got to uni to study journalism. During my time at uni , I volunteered at motorsport events just to get this one step closer to my dream. I downloaded Duolingo to learn Finnish. Cause his personal trainer was Finnish 😂

I decided to move to the UK cause most F1 teams are based here, so perhaps this would help somehow. Maybe by living in England, through some magical intervention, stars will align and I get a chance… I sent CVs to most of the F1 teams based in the UK. I submitted numerous job applications advertised by F1 teams for junior PR roles… I got one response. It was a “NO”.

This fantastic dream of mine never materialised. I’m not a journalist and I don’t work for any media outlet. And I definitely don’t work for an F1 team. Or FIA. Not mad about the last one 😉

And I never even met Seb…

I’m glad I was bored one Sunday and decided to watch an F1 race on tv. I’m glad I spotted that funny blonde head in the crowd. I’m extremely happy I got hold of that Red Bulletin magazine. I learned that day that witty German guy supported by Red Bull’s Young Driver Programme loves the Beatles. That sold me.

Would my life be different if it wasn’t for Sebastian Vettel? Definitely. I would probably be a nuclear physicist… or a teacher, I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. I live in a cool country, I have an amazing job, a fabulous boyfriend and gorgeous two cats. I have a journalist degree of some sort. And I can fluently swear in Finnish. All thanks to the guy I never met, all thanks to Seb!