Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel finds it "crazy" to still be competing against his hero Michael Schumacher.
German praises compatriot on 20th anniversary of his F1 debut
Sebastian Vettel finds it "crazy" to still be competing against his hero Michael Schumacher.
Thursday saw Schumacher celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut in Formula One, his first race being at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
As Vettel recalled, he was aged four at the time, he was unaware then of the impact his fellow German would have on both his life and his career.
Unsurprisingly, it was Schumacher who proved to be his inspiration, as Vettel went on to be crowned Formula One's youngest world champion last year.
Sat alongside one another at Thursday's main FIA press conference, the two compatriots exchanged jokes and comments before Vettel was asked for his thoughts on Schumacher's career in the sport.
Memories
"Michael asked me to have some respect," said Vettel with a smile.
"I remember the first time I went to Hockenheim with my father to watch first practice for the German Grand Prix.
"It was raining like crazy, but we went all the way down to the first chicane, and Michael had this yellow Benetton at the time.
"To see a Formula One car, and to see Michael passing, even though he was probably on an installation lap, nothing spectacular, it was very special.
"Unfortunately, nobody else went out because it was raining so hard, there were only a couple of cars, but that was the first time I remember seeing Michael.
"After that there were a lot of races, go-karting. He was our hero.
"We had this race in Kerpen (west of Cologne) which he attended at the end of the season to hand over the trophies.
"Again, it was very special to see him, to meet him, to shake his hand, and to get the trophies presented by him.
"There are still some pictures from that time, so you can imagine now knowing what happened in the past, to see today we are racing against each other in Formula One is quite crazy.
"I have a lot of respect for him, and he is very special to me, he was the hero of my childhood."
Turning to seven-times champion Schumacher, Vettel jokingly added: "I can't give you too much credit now - but he is an okay driver."
