Vettel joins the F1 greats

The Pole, now rallying after a switch forced by injuries suffered while rallying during F1’s off-season, was deemed unfit to race in the following weekend’s US Grand Prix , and a little-known 19-year-old was drafted into the team.

For his first Grand Prix he qualified a meritorious seventh to team-mate Nick Heidfeld’s fifth, and went on to finish eight at his first attempt. In the process he became the only teenager to score a world championship point.

It was the first of many records for Sebastian Vettel.

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel drives at the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza on September 8. The German won the Italian Grand Prix for his sixth win of the season.

A year later he became the youngest driver to start from pole position and the youngest Grand Prix winner with the unfancied Toro Rosso team when he won the Italian Grand Prix in atrocious weather.

The 2009 season saw Vettel win four Grands Prix for Red Bull Racing giving the drinks company-owned team and finish second in the driver classification to champion Jenson Button.

Every win was hallmarked by Vettel’s mastery of difficult conditions.

The following year saw Vettel lead the world championship only once – across the finish line during the four-way title showdown in Abu Dhabi. He was the youngest world champion in history, beating Lewis Hamilton’s benchmark age.

Another title followed in 2011 with the 2005/6 champion Fernando Alonso’s the only driver to consistently challenge Vettel.

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, shown leading the pack, has won the Formula One Korean Grand Prix in Yeongam on October 6, 2013

Then came 2012. Despite the Red Bull being quicker Alonso and Ferrari gained the initiative, leading the championship with a two win cushion when the series broke for its summer holidays.

When business resumed in Spa the tables turned. Alonso was rammed off the road on the opening lap and lost ground elsewhere. It culminated with Alonso crashing in Suzuka.

All Vettel needed to do was remain calm, and so he did, depriving Alonso of a potential third title in Brazil. Vettel was now the sport’s youngest triple champion.

So to this year which started comparatively badly due to RB9’s intransigence on Pirelli’s ‘popping’ tyres which the car destroyed within laps because of its high downforce levels.

Of the eight races up to Silverstone, Vettel won three and Alonso two.

After Pirelli reverted to their 2012 construction the picture changed dramatically.

Vettel took six wins in a row and the net result was that in Sunday’s 60-lap Indian Grand Prix, the German romped to a tactically superb win that sealed his fourth consecutive title.

He is only the third driver to achieve the feat.

Vettel’s career record is equally impressive. Of Red Bull’s 44 wins he has scored 35 and the Toro Rosso’s victory takes his overall tally to 36.

His critics maintain he lucked into the best car, but this overlooks his dominant junior career (he won 18 of 20 Formula BMW races against identical cars) and that this year team-mate Mark Webber, in the same car, has failed to score a single victory.

Webber might have won in Malaysia had Vettel not ignored team orders, but when they raced to the wire the German was the quicker.

Vettel joins the legendary Juan-Manuel Fangio and compatriot Michael Schumacher as F1’s only consecutive four time champions.

Vettel is only 26 and there is little doubt he deserves his place amongst the greats, and seems destined to overshadow them from a statistical viewpoint.