Revealed: Sebastian Vettel’s ‘packet of biscuits’ offer amid F1 career over talk

Davide Valsecchi, the racer turned Formula 1 commentator and analyst, says the drivers are just “normal” people in the paddock, as he recalled a Sebastian Vettel example. 

The Italian was offered a “packet of biscuits” by Vettel, at a time when he was struggling up against Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, and Valsecchi was raising question marks over the four-time world champion’s F1 career. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, is the only slight exception to that “normal” people description, according to Valsecchi.

Sebastian Vettel and the ‘packet of biscuits’

Vettel arrived at Ferrari back in 2015, looking to take the Scuderia back to F1’s summit after winning four world championships with Red Bull. The collapse of Vettel’s 2018 title challenge felt like a critical turning point, as Leclerc arrived in 2019 and increasingly established control in this intra-team Ferrari battle.

Vettel left Ferrari at the end of a challenging 2020 season.

Valsecchi covered Vettel’s struggles which led to his Ferrari exit. At one stage, Vettel offered him a “packet of biscuits”, a light-hearted gesture which Valsecchi said demonstrates how the F1 drivers are still “normal” people despite all the noise flying around the F1 paddock.

“With Vettel at Ferrari, when he was struggling because Leclerc had arrived, I said on TV that they were risking ending his career,” Valsecchi recalled in a Fanpage.it interview.

“Everyone wrote to me saying I was being too harsh.

“After a race, he called me with a packet of biscuits: ‘Come on, I’ll give you some biscuits, you’re losing too much weight.’

“Inside the paddock, they’re normal, they know how sport works. Vettel, who was struggling against Leclerc, was the first to say: ‘I have to go faster, I don’t know how to do it.'”

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Leclerc – a graduate of the Ferrari Driver Academy – continues to race for the Scuderia, and now an eight-time grand prix winner, finds himself alongside another multi-time world champion in the form of Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver in Formula 1 history.

Hamilton has become much more than just a driver across his illustrious career. He has grown into a brand in his own right by this stage, with interests in areas such as film, fashion and business, alongside his F1 career.

“Hamilton is a normal guy, but it’s harder to have a relationship with him,” said Valsecchi. “Apart from saying ‘Hi, hi’, I don’t have much contact with him; his lifestyle means he keeps his distance from almost everyone.

“Leclerc, on the other hand, is a very normal guy, with the same interests, the same worries, the same characteristics. Don’t think they’re special men. When the car isn’t performing well, they also think about the wings, the modifications, how their teammates are doing.”

Leclerc has shone against Hamilton in F1 2025, their first season together following Hamilton’s blockbuster switch from Mercedes. Leclerc is 66 points better off than Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship with three rounds to go, Hamilton having suffered an underwhelming first season with the iconic team.

“Hamilton has a different aura: he’s the only one with a bodyguard, the only one who rides a scooter,” Valsecchi continued.

“When they signed him at Ferrari, they had a lot to think about. Today, it seems silly. We’ll see if it pays off next year, but if it does, it will be further down the line.”

Opportunity potentially knocks for Hamilton, Leclerc and Ferrari in F1 2026, with sweeping changes to the chassis and engine regulations on the way.

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