Sebastian Vettel, after his recent win at the British GP, extended his championship lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton to eight points. The German reached his 51st victory in Formula 1 and tied Alain Prost for third place in the all-time winners list in F1.
Sebastian Vettel’s Top 3 Wins In His Formula 1 Career
The four-time world champion claimed his twelfth Grand Prix win with Scuderia Ferrari. He scored his maiden triumph with Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008. And then 38 wins for Red Bull Racing (team record) between 2008 and 2014.
Vettel has had great success in his F1 career. He won four titles with Red Bull. Also, gave Toro Rosso its only victory in F1 to date, and on its home soil.
The German’s 105 podium finishes ranks fourth all-time. He has scored 54 poles (fourth all-time). Also, Vettel holds the record for most wins in a single season: 13 with Red Bull in 2013, tied with Michael Schumacher with Ferrari in 2004. And the most pole positions in a single season (15 in 2011 with Red Bull).
Let’s rank Vettel’s top three victories in his Formula 1 career, so far:
3) 2008 Italian Grand Prix with Scuderia Toro Rosso
After claiming a stunning and unlikely pole position on a rainy qualifying session on Saturday at Monza, Vettel propelled his Toro Rosso to victory. The German became the youngest driver in F1 history to win a Grand Prix, score a pole position, and reach a podium.
Vettel’s astonishing victory at Monza remains the only win in Toro Rosso’s history. Also, it is the team’s only podium and pole position to date.
The German won the race with a 12.5 seconds gap over second-placed Heikki Kovalainen. And 20 seconds over Robert Kubica, who finished third. Vettel’s car was not one of the best on the grid, but the STR3 was great that weekend. Vettel’s teammate, Sébastien Bourdais was fourth on Saturday, although his race wasn’t excellent due to a problem at the start.
Toro Rosso’s victory was the first win by an Italian team other than Ferrari, since Juan Manuel Fangio‘s win with Maserati in the 1957 German Grand Prix.
2) 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix with Scuderia Ferrari
After a winless year with Red Bull in 2014 (his teammate Daniel Ricciardo won three races that year), Vettel made the move to replace Fernando Alonso at Ferrari for the 2015 season. With many changes occurring inside Ferrari’s garage, the red team re-emerged for the new campaign.
The 2015 season started with a third place for Vettel in Australia, the first podium for the Maranello-based squad after eight races. Also, it was Ferrari’s third podium in 20 races.
After a good performance under heavy rain in the qualifying for the Malaysian GP, Vettel managed to be second fastest behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. The race started with Hamilton and Vettel maintaining their positions on the track.
Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson spun off at turn 1. Race Control deployed the Safety Car, part of the field entered the pitlane, including Hamilton and his teammate, Nico Rosberg.
Vettel stayed out and, with his SF15-T working correctly in the hot conditions, took advantage of Mercedes’ struggles. Vettel won the race over the Silver Arrows with an 8.5 seconds gap to Hamilton.
It was Vettel’s first victory with Ferrari, the first for the Italian team since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. Also, Vettel ended his winless streak of 21 races since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
With Vettel’s second podium in two races, Ferrari matched the number of podium finishes they scored during the entire 2014 season.
1) 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Red Bull Racing
The sweetest of them all. Vettel’s win at Abu Dhabi in 2010 remains his most significant race win in Formula 1 to date. The 2010 Formula 1 season was one for the ages. Four drivers entered the last GP with a chance to win the title. Vettel was third in the WDC, behind Fernando Alonso, and Mark Webber.
The Spaniard and Vettel’s teammate were the favourites to win the championship. With Vettel’s chances lower and Lewis Hamilton expecting a miracle.
Vettel, who won the previous Grand Prix in Brazil, stormed to pole position on Saturday over Hamilton. Alonso and Webber lined up third and fifth, respectively, Vettel’s chances had a boost, however, Sunday was the key.
An early Safety Car mixed the race up. With many cars entering the pits and fulfilling the one-stop strategy, which later made title contenders pay a high price. Webber was pitted by Red Bull to put pressure on Ferrari’s decision with Alonso. The Spaniard would lose places to cars which were already racing till the chequered flag.
Alonso pitted and rejoined 14th and then reached seventh behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. The Spaniard could not overtake the Russian driver and finished seventh. Proving that Ferrari’s decision to follow Webber into the pits was not correct.
Vettel was comfortable at the front, with a good gap over McLaren’s Hamilton and Jenson Button. The German won the race, and the results helped him win his maiden championship. He became the youngest driver ever to win it, and the second German to do so.
Red Bull’s controversial decision with Webber’s strategy helped the German’s chances. Despite the controversy, Vettel drove fantastically in the last races of the year and won his title.
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