It still surprises me that some F1 fans neither regard highly nor like Sebastian Vettel. In a sport where so much focus is on numbers and statistics one cannot look past the fact that in just over 100 races he was four World Championships to his name and the fact that he won them successively makes it all the more impressive.
The first issue that fans seem to have with Sebastian is that they think he can only race from the front. It may be his trademark: pull out an incredible pole lap and then just get into the flow of the race; a lights to flag victory, but it’s down to the other drivers who just couldn’t keep with him at all. You don’t lose that speed, this season is probably the most difficult he’s ever had to deal with but to keep going and keep motivation shows how strong mentally he is. Abu Dhabi 2012 is one of my favourite Vettel performances all time; he started from the pits but still finished 3rd. That for any driver is an incredible achievement and I believe he may have got second or maybe even have been fighting for first had he not taken an extra pit stop in order to be on the safe side with his tyres. A few races later in that 2012 season came the Brazilian GP; the race which gave him his third Drivers’ Championship. He came through the field not once, having collided with Bruno Senna, spinning and rejoining the race with a damaged diffuser and in 22nd place, but twice after another pit stop was required because of the rain, in which there was a long delay after a team radio failure caused the mechanics not to be ready for him when he came into the pits. All this and he still finished 6th, wrapping up the title by three points. However, fans still don’t think he can fight in the pack, I think it may be down to the fact that they just don’t like him. Even in races like the 2013 Japan GP he fell back from second at the start but kept a cool head and made some overtakes at the right time to win that race in style.
Being a Vettel fan, again I just can’t understand why people don’t like him. It can’t be because he won for four years in succession because throughout all four Championships which were won in entirely different ways he stayed humble as he approached every moment; it is clear that he loves the history of Formula One and every Championship meant so much to him. He knows that he wouldn’t have won any of the Championships without the great Red Bull team around him, whether that be Adrian Newey’s actual designs or his coaches like Heikki Huovinen and despite this I don’t think he ever comes across as spoilt. Can he be a bit short-tempered on the radio? Yes, but he’s earned the right to be frustrated when things aren’t going his way, especially this season, at least he acts so maturely out of the car in front of press which is more than can be said for some of the older drivers on the grid.
I have no doubt that he will get through this rough season, whether it’s getting used to his car nearer the end of the season or knowing that improvements will come next season or even moving on from the team which his given him all of his Championship wins; there’s not one team that would not be lucky to have him. For me he is the best driver of this generation, because as with most things in F1, the stats don’t lie.
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