Interviewer: "First one we've got is Lewis Hamilton."
Seb: "Goat." [laughs]
Interviewer: "Max Verstappen?"
Seb: "Skill."
Interviewer: "George Russell."
Seb: "Style."
Interviewer: "Charles Leclerc?"
Seb: "Talent."
Interviewer: "Lando Norris?"
Seb: "Fun."
Interviewer: "Fernando Alonso?"
Seb: "Hunger."
Interviewer: "Michael Schumacher."
Seb: "Hero."
Interviewer: "Ayrton Senna?"
Seb: "Legend."
Interviewer: "Jenson Button?"
Seb: "Humor."
Interviewer: "Kimi Räikkönen?"
Seb: "Squash."
Interviewer: "And the last one is-"
Seb: "Or badminton. [laughs] Sorry. Yeah."
Interviewer: "And the last one is Sebastian Vettel."
Seb: "Me." [laughs]
Interviewer: [laughs] "And we've got a couple of quick-fire questions for you, as well. Who is the best driver you raced against, and why?"
Seb: "Mm… I would say Michael and Lewis. Why? Because numbers speak for themselves, but Michael was my hero and Lewis is the best in terms of statistics."
Interviewer: "And who is your toughest competitor?"
Seb: "Fernando. I think I had close championships and close calls with him, and throughout my career generally he's the sort of driver who's always there, very competitive, and yeah, I think he was the hardest competitor I faced."
Interviewer: "And which driver surprised you the most?"
Seb: "Mm… Hard to remember all of them. [laughs] But yeah, I think Max, just the sheer skill when he rocked up and how he was able to polish it and driving at the level that he is today."
Interviewer: "And the last one is… This is a tough one. Who will be the next F1 champion that is not named Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton?"
Seb: "Mm… George Russell."
lewis hamilton, sebastian vettel, michael schumacher, and fernando alonso during the press conference, brazil - november 22, 2012
📷 emily davenport / motorsport images