Sebastian Vettel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sebastian Vettel | |
|---|---|
 Vettel at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix |
|
| Nationality |  German |
| Car # | 15 |
| Current team | Scuderia Toro Rosso |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Races | 15 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Career points | 11 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 2007 United States Grand Prix |
| Latest race | 2008 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 2007 position | 14th (6 pts) |
Sebastian Vettel (born July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim) is a German race car driver. He is currently contracted to the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team alongside Sébastien Bourdais after replacing Scott Speed on July 31, 2007. He had been the third (test and reserve) driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team from the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix onwards. By taking part in Friday practice for the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Vettel became the youngest ever Formula One driver to drive at a Grand Prix meeting, at 19 years and 53 days. On Sunday, September 30th, 2007, during the Japanese Grand Prix Vettel became the youngest driver to lead a race in Formula One history. (Mike Thackwell remains the youngest driver to compete in a championship Grand Prix race; Nico Rosberg the youngest to drive an F1 car in private testing[1]). He also became the quickest driver to get a fine in F1, being fined $1,000 nine seconds into his career, after speeding in the pitlane.[2] He also became the sixth youngest driver to start a Grand Prix, the youngest driver to score points in a Grand Prix and lead a Grand Prix.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Junior Series
Vettel started racing karts in 1995, winning various titles. In 2003, he upgraded to open-wheel cars, and won the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship with 18 victories from 20 races.
In 2005 he drove for ASL Mucke Motorsport in the Formula Three Euroseries. He was placed fifth in the final standings with 64 points, winning the year's top rookie honours. He did not win any races, but this was largely due to the championship's domination by Lewis Hamilton. Despite, this, he tested the Williams FW27 Formula One car on September 27 as a reward for this Formula BMW success. He then went on to test for the BMW Sauber team.
Vettel finished as runner-up in the 2006 F3 Euroseries, behind series leader Paul di Resta. He also made his début in the World Series by Renault at Misano, winning after Pastor Maldonado was disqualified.[3] However, at the next round at Spa-Francorchamps, his finger was almost sliced off by flying débris in an accident, and he was expected to be out of racing for several weeks.[4] However, he managed to compete in the Ultimate Masters of F3 at Zandvoort the following weekend, finishing in sixth place. He also set third fastest lap time, and it surprised his ASM team boss Frédéric Vasseur. Vasseur said: "I was impressed for sure, because at the beginning of the week I was sure he wouldn't race! But he showed good pace from the first practice session. I can't imagine he's 100 per cent but at least we know we can be competitive in the next F3 Euroseries round at the Nürburgring next weekend - that's important." [5]
Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, when former incumbent Robert Kubica was called up to replace the departed Jacques Villeneuve for the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Vettel impressed on his testing début by setting fastest time in second Friday Free Practice during the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix.[6] The young German also impressed on his second testing session in the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, setting the fastest time in both Friday practice sessions, a race weekend in which all the BMW cars were quick, with his predecessor Robert Kubica finishing on the podium in the race.
He was confirmed as BMW's test driver for 2007,[7] and also competed in the World Series by Renault Championship, where he had his first win at the Nürburgring. He was leading the championship when he was called up to F1 permanently, and his seat was taken by Michael Ammermüller.[8]
[edit] Formula One
Following the serious crash of regular BMW driver Robert Kubica in Canada, Vettel substituted for him at the US Grand Prix and started in seventh position on the grid,[9] finishing in 8th position, thanks to Nico Rosberg's late retirement, to take his first F1 World Championship point and became the youngest driver ever to score a point in Formula One (at the age of 19 years and 349 days), a record previously held by Jenson Button - who was 20 years and 67 days old when he finished 6th at the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix.[10]
On July 31, 2007, BMW released Vettel to join Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team, replacing Scott Speed as race driver as of the Hungarian Grand Prix.[11] He earned approximately $165,000 for finishing the season with Toro Rosso.[12] Before the Hungarian GP, it was also announced that Vettel would drive for STR in 2008.[13] His team-mate would be Sébastien Bourdais.[14]
The Red Bull team are understood to have an option on Vettel's services for the 2009 season depending on the team's performance. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz said: "There are contracts in place, and if we perform, he will be back with us in 2009".[15]
Vettel struggled to keep up with Liuzzi's pace at Budapest, Istanbul, Monza and Spa, and never managed to progress amongst the lower-midfield pack (Toyota, Honda, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri). In the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber, and seemed to be on course for not only his but also Toro Rosso's maiden podium finish. However, Vettel crashed into Webber under safety car conditions taking them both out of the race and prompting Webber to say to ITV reporter Louise Goodman “It’s kids isn’t it... kids with not enough experience – they do a good job and then they fuck it all up.” Vettel was caught on camera crying after the incident. He was initially punished with a ten-place grid penalty for the following race, but this was lifted after a spectator video on YouTube caused the incident to be reinvestigated.
However, he bounced back to finish a career-best fourth a week later at the Chinese GP having started 17th in mixed conditions. He collected five championship points, making it both his and Toro Rosso's best race result.[16]
Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz believes Vettel will be one of Formula One's big stars in the future. "Vettel is one of the young guys with extraordinary potential [...] He is fast, he is intelligent, and he is very interested in the technical side."[17]
According to some sources, at the end of the 2007 season Vettel was contacted by McLaren Mercedes in order to replace Spanish two-time world champion Fernando Alonso that left the British team for Renault in the same period. The talks between McLaren chief Ron Dennis and Dietrich Mateschitz failed however, the Red Bull boss refusing a multi million Euro deal for the young German driver.
After four races of the 2008 Formula One season Vettel was the only driver to have failed to finish a single race, having retired on the first lap in three of them. In each of these three instances, he was involved in accidents caused by other drivers. However, at the fifth round in Turkey, he finally saw the chequered flag, finishing 17th after qualifying 14th. In the next race at Monaco, Vettel scored his first points of the 2008 Season with a fifth place finish, mainly due to the changing conditions. Vettel also benefitted from the downfall of other drivers, such as Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen.
[edit] Race of Champions
Vettel competed in the 2007 Race of Champions, representing the German team alongside Michael Schumacher.[18] Vettel and Schumacher won the Nation's Cup Title, after exciting finals. Vettel had to beat two RoC champions, Kovalainen and Grönholm, after Schumacher stalled his car. On the other hand, Sebastian lost the individual competition right in first heat, in his second battle against Kovalainen.
[edit] Racing record
| 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 |
| 2005 | Formula 3 Euroseries | ASL Mücke Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 5th |
| 2006 | Formula 3 Euroseries | ASM Formule 3 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 75 | 2nd |
| 2006 | World Series by Renault | Carlin Motorsport | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 15th |
| 2007 | World Series by Renault | Carlin Motorsport | 7 | 1 | 1 | 74 | 5th |
| 2007 | Formula One | BMW Sauber Toro Rosso |
8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14th |
| 2008 | Formula One | Toro Rosso | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 14th* |
* Season in progress
[edit] Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 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 STR2B | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | AUS Ret |
MAL Ret |
BHR Ret |
ESP Ret |
TUR 17 |
14th* | 5* | |||||||||||||
| Toro Rosso STR3 | MON 5 |
CAN 8 |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
EUR |
BEL |
ITA |
SIN |
JPN |
CHN |
BRA |
* Season in progress
[edit] References
- ^ "Driver Profiles: Nico Rosberg", skysports.com, 2007-06-10. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
- ^ "Vettel fined for speeding", f1.gpupdate.net, 2006-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "WS: Misano 2006 - Maldonado DQ gives Vettel win.", crash.net, 2006-07-17. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "WS: Injury to sideline Vettel for weeks.", crash.net, 2006-07-30. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ Autosport magazine, 10th August 2006, page 27
- ^ "2006 Turkish Grand Prix - Fri Prac 2", formula1.com, 2006-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "BMW names same drivers for 2007", grandprix.com, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "Ammermuller replaces Vettel at Carlin", autosport.com, 2007-08-15. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ "Vettel to replace Kubica at Indianapolis", autosport.com, 2007-06-14. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
- ^ "Vettel becomes F1's youngest scorer", itv-f1.com, 2007-06-17. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
- ^ Sebastian Vettel replaces Speed at Toro Rosso. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
- ^ "Vettel to earn $165,000 at STR", flagworld.auto123.com, 2007-08-01. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
- ^ "Vettel to race for Toro Rosso in 2008", autosport.com, 2007-08-02. Retrieved on 2007-08-02.
- ^ "Toro Rosso confirm Bourdais for 2008", grandprix.com, 2008-08-10. Retrieved on 2008-08-10.
- ^ F1 driver line-up changes for 2008. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ Flawless Vettel storms to fourth. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-07.
- ^ www.autosport.com Retrieved 30 January 2008
- ^ "Vettel to represent Germany at RoC", planet-f1.com, 2007-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
[edit] External links
- Sebastian Vettel website (German)
- Sebastian Vettel Fansite (English)
- Vettel's career details
- Sebastian Vettel UK MySpace Fanclub
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maximilian Götz |
German Formula BMW Drivers' Champion 2004 |
Succeeded by Nicolas Hülkenberg |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by Jenson Button 20 years, 67 days (2000 Brazilian GP) |
Youngest Driver to score Points in Formula One 19 years, 349 days (2007 United States Grand Prix) |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Fernando Alonso 21 years, 237 days (2003 Malaysian GP) |
Youngest Race Leader, For at least one lap in Formula One 20 years, 89 days (2007 Japanese Grand Prix) |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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