Christian Horner has paid tribute to Sebastian Vettel, revealing the four-time world champion once walked a donkey through his local village.

Vettel announced in July that he would retire from Formula 1 at the end of the current season.

The German won all four of his world titles driving for Red Bull before switching to Ferrari for 2015 and, finally, Aston Martin for the past two seasons.

He made his F1 debut for BMW Sauber in 2007, substituting for the injured Robert Kubica at the United States Grand Prix, before joining Toro Rosso the following year.

On Sunday, he will bring the curtain down on a career that will have taken in 299 race starts, 53 wins and 122 podiums alongside his four world titles.

“He’s just a consummate professional,” Horner said.

“He came to us as a young kid with a brace and a funny haircut and he just grew in that time as a Red Bull driver.

“He just got such an endearing personality; turned up with chocolates for the receptionist and the secretaries and [he] just endeared himself to everybody.

“He had the ability to mimic and impersonate so many different accents, from cockney slang to Nigel Mansell – his Jean Todt was legendary.

“What we achieved together, the four consecutive world championships, the way that he went into the final race here in 2010 and in Brazil 2012 – phenomenal, phenomenal memories.”

Vettel won his first title at the 2010 season finale, while he secured his fourth with a run of nine successive victories.

It was brutal domination that brought to an end that period of Formula 1 as the sport moved into the hybrid era the following season.

A move to Ferrari followed with hopes of a world championship but a world championship eluded Vettel and the team.

He twice competed for the title during his time in Maranello, though team boss Mattia Binotto conceded the German ultimately failed with the Scuderia.

“His objective was to win the title with Ferrari, and I think together with himself, it was our objective as well,” Binotto said.

“So it has been a failure for him, but it has been a failure, all together as a team.

“We had few opportunities, but we didn’t get it and I think when your final objective is to do that, and if you do not achieve it, it’s a fail.”

While his career post-Red Bull did not live up to the heights of his early year, Horner argues that does nothing to diminish Vettel as a driver.

“Obviously the last couple of years have been more challenging for him but it shouldn’t diminish from anything that he’s done and achieved as one as one of the greatest drivers ever in Formula 1,” Horner reasoned.

“Beyond that, [he’s] just a great guy.

“So many memories away from the track with him.

“He used to spend quite a bit of time, he used to come and stay at the house – I live in the countryside on a bit of a farm.

“They were lambing, the lambs were being born in the shed, and he wanted to get involved and see.

“I just remember the local farmer turning up with Sebastian helping to pull a couple of lambs out, and he didn’t have a clue who he was, who this guy is; a four-time world champion, in a sheep shed.

“We’ve got a couple of miniature donkeys he took for a walk, and he’s walking through the village and somebody nearly drove off the road thinking ‘Is that Sebastian Vettel with the donkey from Shrek?’

“But just a lovely, lovely guy and I think we’ll all miss him in Formula 1.”