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I have mixed feelings about him. At first I thought he was quite unlikeable in his Red Bull and the early part of his Ferrari career. Multi 21, Baku 2017 & Brazil 2019 were particular low points. But at the same time his terrific results spoke for themselves, and demand respect.
Despite him not exactly being my favourite driver, his decline at Ferrari was very sad to see. When he crashed out of the German GP in 2018, it seemed to trigger something. The next 2 seasons seemed to be full of unforced errors or at the very least him cracking under the slightest pressure.
I think that leaving Ferrari released that pressure somewhat. Or perhaps he simply grew up a bit? I am not sure exactly what has changed. Now he come across (to me at least) as a genuine, humble and likeable bloke who I would love to go for a beer with. He still has speed, but a race winning drive is not available, so it makes sense to call it a day.
He loves his F1. I had forgotten until recently that he bought Mansells Red 5 championship winning Williams. Who here wouldn't love to be in a position to do something like that!
I never thought I would say this - but I think that I will miss him being on the grid.
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