Vettel: five things we’ve learned

Come next year, Sebastian Vettel will no longer be a Ferrari F1 driver. Here’s why we think the four-time champ is so special

1

He’s prodigiously talented

Vettel showed searing speed as a BMW test driver and then – at times – in his first season with Toro Rosso in 2008. Then it clicked. At Monza Vettel was fastest in two of the three qualifying sessions, took pole and won the (moist) race by more than 12 seconds to become the sport’s youngest race winner.

2

Doesn’t play nicely with the other kids 2010 saw the dawn of an era of crushing Vettel/ Red Bull dominance, though Seb had to work hard for his nd first title, overturning a big points gap to Alonso in the last race of the season. He also smashed into teammate Webber in Turkey – for the second time. Their relationship became, er, strained.

3

Not much of a team player Malaysia 2013. Vettel ignored team orders to rail around the outside of Webber for the win. Heaven knows why anyone was surprised; Vettel’s childhood heroes were Michaels Schumacher and Jordan, two of the most ruthless competitors in history.

4

Likes the colour red 2014, the first season of the hybrid era, was a living nightmare for Vettel and Red Bull. He signed to Ferrari for 2015, keen to quash the notion his success was due only to superior Red Bull cars, to follow in Schuey’s bootsteps and to get as far from Renault engines as possible…

5

Still fast, still fragile In a quick Ferrari, Vettel spent the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons being by turns flawless and flawed, countering a healthy haul of wins (he secured his 50th in 2018, the fourth driver in F1 history to do so) with mid-race spins, mistakes under pressure and bizarre lapses of judgement.