Vettel: I'm joining F1's greatest team

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Sebastian Vettel said the lure of joining "the greatest team in the sport" drew him to the Ferrari Formula 1 squad even though he was happy at Red Bull.

Ferrari finally announced ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday that Fernando Alonso would be leaving and Vettel taking his place for 2015. The deal had been widely anticipated in the six weeks since Red Bull revealed Vettel's departure.

Vettel reiterated that leaving the organization that brought him into F1 and to four world championships was not easy. "I think it felt like the right time," he said. "It is not an easy decision to make, I've been with Red Bull for my entire life since I was 12 years old, supported by them and I have a very, very strong link to all the people in Austria.

"It has been an incredible journey but at some stage you feel like you want to take on a new challenge and something different. I don't have to mention the history of Ferrari. It's probably the greatest team in the sport. So I am very excited and very motivated to try to do my best, put my heart in it and obviously be successful."

Red Bull had Vettel under contract to the end of 2015, but he said his desire to move on over-rode that agreement.

"Obviously my wish was to leave, and I think it is not a good thing to stop people when they want to leave and force them to stay, or try to convince them, because ultimately they want to leave," said Vettel. "It was not a decision against the team or Red Bull, but a decision for my future.

"Big decisions are not easy, but you listen to yourself, listen to your heart and go with that."