Sebastian Vettel
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Sebastian Vettel (born July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim) is a German formula one race car driver for the Scuderia Toro Rosso formula one team. Vettel, like most of the F1 drivers, kicked his career off at a very young age, picking off from where his father---a former karting enthusiast himself---left off. He has also written himself in record books with various milestones, becoming the youngest driver in F1 history to drive at a Grand Prix meeting (19 years, 53 days), the youngest to lead a race (Japanese GP - 09.30.07), the sixth youngest driver to start a Grand Prix, and the youngest driver to score points in a Grand Prix (U.S. GP). Unfortunately, he also carries the dubious distinction of being the quickest driver to get a fine in F1 after he was slapped with a $1,000 penalty for speeding in the pitlane just nine seconds into his career.
Although he has been commended for having maturity beyond his age, Vettel has exhibited rookie mistakes in his past races, most notably the one in the Japanese GP where he cost himself and sister-team driver Mark Webber a podium opportunity.
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Personal Life
Sebastian, also known as Sebi, is the son of Norbert Vettel who was a hill-climb racer and a kart driver. He was born in Heppenheim, Germany but is currently residing in Switzerland, near Zürich. He has two sisters, namely Melanie and Stephanie, and one younger brother named Fabian. He said in an interview that when he was born, he was almost named Ryan, and had he born a girl, would have been named with an -ie on the end of his name like his sisters. His sister Melanie was interested in horses while sister Stephanie, like him, was also competing with karts for a while in 1993 and '94, but eventually stopped because Sebi didn't want her to drive. When he is not on the track, he likes to snowboard, mountainbike, or swim. He considers the Norisring, Adria, Monaco and Spa circuits as his favorite tracks, and Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher as his sports heroes. Sebastian is quite a supersitious, believing in different kind of superstitions and brings along on his pocket a Glückschwein mit Pfenne (Lucky Pig with a coin) bought by his father after he was involved in a karting accident.
Career
Early Career
Vettel received a kart as a Christmas present when he was only three and a half years old. Since then, the young Vettel, influenced by his father whom he and his family would travel with in a trailer on racing events, has shown his passion for the sport driving his kart on their yard for hours and had to be forced by his parents out of it. When he was five, he tasted his first drive on a racetrack and a couple of years later, was finally eligible to compete in the mini klasse kart league as he approached the age of eight. He claimed his victory in Wittgenborn and was followed by several more. When he was 9, he was already looking for a long-term sponsor, which he got when he joined the Red Bull Junior Team. Not long after, Vettel bagged his maiden German title which was followed by loads of other championships, including the North Rhine-Westphalia Cup which he won four times (1997-98, 2000-01); the DMV Kartmeisterschaf in 1997, the Kartclub Kerpen-Manheim in 1998; the Monaco Kart Cup, Kart Paris-Bersi Cup, the ICA Junior European Championship (65 points), and the German Junior Kart Championship (197 points) in 2001. He also had the priviledge of being awarded with one of his titles by his idol, Michael Schumacher.
By August of 2002, Vettel went through a selection process to earn a spot at the Formula BMW ADAC Racing School in Valencia in which he was able to squeeze past 46 others. That same year, he also competed with the KSN Official Racing Team in the ICA Senior Championships where he finished 6th in the European class and 10th in the German class. Another year passed and Vettel was able to strut his wares in the Formel BMW, representing the Eifelland Racing team and claiming a second place finish overall with five wins, five pole positions, and 12 podium finishes. His efforts also landed him the top rookie honors that year. 2004 saw a dominant performance at the BMW ADAC Championship, winning 18 of 20 races, garnering 14 pole positions and 13 record laps with a podium appearance in every race after scoring 387 points out of 400. His only two non-win podiums was in Adria and in Nürburgring, both races taken by Brazilian Atila Abreu. But as much as he is admired for his on-track excellence, Vettel has also earned praises for his work ethic (as evidenced by his 4-hour pre-race jogs to get circulation pumping) and maturity (in dealing with journalists, VIPs, and sponsors). For that, the young German was named 2004 ADAC Motorsport Junior and received an ADAC Christophours made of Nymphenburger porcelain.
Formula Three
After what he has achieved in the junior ranks, Vettel finally made his Formel 3 Euroseries debut with the ASL Mucke Motorsport team, and was still able to make a good account of himself despite Lewis Hamilton's total domination, scoring a fifth place finish with 64 points (same as France's Franck Perera but was relegated to 5th as the frenchman had more podiums) and four second place finishes (Norisring, twice in Nürburgring, and Zandvoort) enroute to being named as the top rookie performer of the year. He was able to take part in a free weekend Spanish F3 tourney representing the Racing Engineering Team where he garnered eight points with 1 podium and a 15th place finish in the championship. In addition, he participated in the 52nd Macau Grand Prix, taking home a third place finish. By virtue of his performance, Vettel earned a test drive for the BMW-Williams team, driving the FW27 at the Jerez track on the 27th of September 2005.
In 2006, Vettel continued to compete in the F3 Euroseries with ASM Formule 3 and despite claiming four victories (twice in Hockenheim, once in Nürbrugring and once at Barcelona), three second places (Brands Hatch, Norisring and Zandvoort), and two third places (Lausitzring and Hockenheim), still came up short for the championship behind Paul di Resta. During that time, Vettel also took part in the World Series by Renault at Misano as a replacement to Colin Fleming starting at the Istanbul Round. After managing to win his first race by virtue of Pastor Maldonado's DQ, Vettel had an unfortunate accident in the tournament wherein he almost lost a finger when a piece of debris cut across his cockpit. Despite being adviced to stay out of racing for a few weeks, Vettel returned to action the following weekend to compete in the Ultimate Masters of F3, finishing the event in 6th place. He concluded his World Series by Renault debut with 28 points which was good for 15th place.
Entry to Formula One-BMW Sauber (2006-07)
After BMW Sauber elevated third driver Robert Kubica to the seat previously occupied by former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, Vettel was promoted as the team's reserve driver. He quickly made an impression on his testing debut after setting the fastest time in the second Friday Free Practice during the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, and then establishing the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions in his second testing session at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix.
Instead of making his GP2 debut, Vettel returned to the World Series By Renault at the start of 2007 basically to be able to free more time for his BMW commitments. He even moved to Walchwil at Lake Zug, Switzerland in order to be closer to BMW’s factory. However, with rule changes in the F1 series preventing third drivers from taking part in Friday sessions, Vettel's moves were nullified and he was eventually relegated to test driving duties. After being installed on a full-time basis as an F1 driver, Vettel had to give his seat in the World Series by Renault to Michael Ammermüller despite leading the championship when he was called up.
After a serious crash took out regular BMW driver Kubica in the Canadian Grand Prix, Vettel was elevated to the second driver's seat in Indianapolis with teammate Nick Heidfeld and started the race on seventh on the grid. Despite some rookie mistakes, Vettel managed to chalk up BMW's lone score of the GP after finishing 8th with Heidfeld retired from the race. The point allowed Vettel to become the youngest driver ever to score a point on F1 at the age of 19 years and 349 days, breaking Jenson Button's record of 20 years and 67 days (2000 Brazilian GP). It was however a short stint for the German as Kubica returned the following race in France displacing Vettel back to his original spot.
Scuderia Toro Rosso (2007-Present)
With the Scuderia Toro Rosso team having serious problems dealing with American driver Scott Speed, STR was on the hunt for a possible replacement. Vettel, with his past ties as part of the Red Bull Junior Team, was no doubt the primary candidate. With BMW Sauber's permission, he made the move to STR on the 31st of July 2007, reportedly earning approximately $165,000 for finishing the season. Vettel struggled in his first three starts, being outpaced by teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi with a 16th, 19th, 18th, and a retirement in the Budapest, Istanbul, Monza and Spa grands prix. In Japan, Vettel had the opportunity to finally score his and the team's maiden podium after racing his way to third place behind McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber but a crucial error that led to his crash to Webber "under safety car conditions" took him and Webber out of the race. After the race, Webber said in an interview that “It’s kids isn’t it... kids with not enough experience – they do a good job and then they fuck it all up.” Vettel, who was also caught on camera crying after the incident, was initially penalized with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race. Fortunately, a fan made video that got on the internet showed that the accident was Hamilton's, and not Vettel's fault, causing the penalty to be nullified. However, another penalty would be incurred by the German in the China GP qualifying after blocking Heikki Kovalainen, sending him five positions further on the grid at the 17th. Despite the odds, he managed to put up a gallant effort with a one stop strategy, eventually finishing the race in the 4th place with 5 points, edging teammate Liuzzi who was 6th with three points. Both drivers were shut out of the final race in Brazil, keeping the team's score at eight by the end of the season which was good for seventh in the World Constructors’ Championship.
Vettel will be returning for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2008 to team up with "namesake" and four-time WTcc champion Sebastién Bourdais.
Race of Champions
Vettel capped 2007 with a stint at the Race of Champions with idol Michael Schumacher to represent Team Germany. Although, he came up short in the individual competition after bowing out to Kovalainen in the first heat, he was able to do his part in the team event. It was like a fairy tale ending for Vettel in the finale as he made up when Schumacher's vehicle was stalled, taking out both Markus Grönholm and RoC 2004 champion Heikki Kovalainen to give the team the win.
Results and Records
Career Summary
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | German Formula BMW | Eifelland Racing | 19 | 5 | 5 | 216 | 2nd |
| 2004 | German Formula BMW | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg | 20 | 14 | 18 | 387 | 1st |
| 2005 | Spanish Formula 3 | Racing Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 15th |
| Formula 3 Euroseries | ASL Mücke Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 5th | |
| 2006 | Formula 3 Euroseries | ASM Formule 3 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 75 | 2nd |
| World Series by Renault | Carlin Motorsport | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 15th | |
| 2007 | World Series by Renault | Carlin Motorsport | 7 | 1 | 1 | 74 | 5th |
| Formula One | BMW Sauber/Toro Rosso | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14th | |
| 2008 | Formula One | Toro Rosso |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | BMW Sauber F1 Team | BMW Sauber F1.06 | BMW P86 2.4 V8 | BHR | MAL | AUS | SMR | EUR | ESP | MON | GBR | CAN | USA | FRA | GER | HUN | TUR TD | ITA TD | CHN TD | JPN TD | BRA TD | - | - | |
| 2007 | BMW Sauber F1 Team | BMW Sauber F1.07 | BMW P86/7 2.4 V8 | AUS TD | MAL TD | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | USA 8 | FRA | GBR | EUR | 14th | 6 | |||||||||
| Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso STR2 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | HUN 16 | TUR 19 | ITA 18 | BEL Ret | JPN Ret | CHN 4 | BRA Ret | |||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso STR2 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | TUR | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | EUR | BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | CHN | BRA |
References
- Sebastian Vettel Crash.net Profile
- Sebastian Vettel Wikipedia
- Sebastian Vettel: Formula 1's Youngest Driver
