Decision to retire was years in the making, admits Vettel, though he insists he still loves racing.

Just seven days ago the four-time champion had to deny rumours linking him with a shock move to McLaren to replace former teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Little did those asking the questions realise that a week later it would be the Australian being linked with the German's seat.

Speaking today following his announcement, Vettel admitted that while he only informed Aston Martin of his decision yesterday, he had been considering the move for years.

Having made the decision and gone public with it, Vettel feels a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, so much so that when asked if he will still be motivated over the remaining (ten) races of his F1 career, he replied: "I don't see that I will have a problem to motivate myself... I feel a little bit the opposite.

"Obviously this decision has been in my head for so long now," he continued, "and has taken so much energy to be honest. And maybe even at times distracted me a little bit, that I'm quite relieved and looking forward to the next races. So it's maybe more the opposite.

"The timeline takes us years back," he admitted, when asked when he made the decision to quit. "So it's not a decision I took overnight.

"Obviously, the final decision was taken yesterday, by telling the team that I'm going to stop and not going to continue. But there was a lot of thought leading into this.

"I think it's the right time for me to do other things," he added. "Obviously, I know how much dedication goes into this. And if you do this, I'm convinced you have to do it the right way. I don't get much pleasure and motivation from being here and just being part of it."

In all honesty, few were surprised by today's news, the German never appearing to rediscover his old form after being soundly beaten by Charles Leclerc following his arrival at Maranello.

And while Aston Martin offered a new start, the Silverstone-based outfit has been unable to provide him with a car with which he can fight for serious points.

However, Vettel is adamant that the team's lack of progress didn't play a part in his decision.

"The aim has always been to win and compete at the front," he said. "I think I've been very privileged to have had so many great cars and teams in the past that I was able to achieve so many things. In terms of greatness, this team doesn't fall short of any of them, compared to any of the ones before, but obviously, our package wasn't as strong as we would have loved it to be.

"So we didn't race for front positions," he admitted. "But in terms of effort, team spirit, quality, I think there's all the right ingredients. And I do see the team will make progress in the year that is to come next year, and the years after.

"But as I said, so much dedication going in means also a lot of time spent in your head, in your thoughts, but also physically away from home, from kids, family, and other things, other than the children who are growing, it's other interests and views, and I can't ignore these voices.

"Ultimately, I think the questions got bigger and bigger and more central to a point where I made the decision. It's not a 100%-0% decision. It's not like I hate racing from now on... I still love racing. But it's probably the majority that pulls me in a different direction. And I'm not making way, because it's my decision, but I'm happy to head in a different direction.

"I spent a lot of time talking to my wife," he revealed. "And she's probably been the first supporter in terms of carrying on, and said that ultimately, it's my decision.

"I think I'm incredibly lucky that I found something that means so much to me in my life, gave me so much joy, a platform to make friends and meet all sorts of people, travel the world, see things, open my horizons.

"And, yeah, I think she's been very supportive, saying that it has to be my decision. Of course, she has an opinion. But she's very supportive. And in the end, it was 'it's for you to decide, I cannot decide for you'."

Asked if his increasing interest in activism, particularly the environment, played a part, he admitted: "Yeah, it's one of the one of the factors that definitely played a played a role. I don't know, I can't give you a number in terms of percentage, I think that would be silly.

"But for sure, seeing the world changing and seeing the future, in a very threatened position for all of us, and especially for generations to come, I understand that part of my passion, my job is coming with things that I'm not a fan of, obviously, travelling the world, racing cars, burning resources, literally.

"I think once you see these things, and once you're aware, then I don't think you can really unsee. It's not the main factor. Like I said, it is a combination of many things, but it is also part of the driver behind the decision."

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