Formula 1 does not come short in the list of sports with a long number of legendary athletes. Sebastian Vettel is one of them: he achieved remarkable success, reaching levels that few have attained. In 2022, he retired from the sport, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of racing.
Our article will examine Vettel’s entire biography and some of its most notable moments. Unsurprisingly, his career was full of those and quite engaging.
The Early Days – The Rise of a Future Champion
Vettel was born in West Germany in 1987. He began carting as a hobby at three and competed in sports at the age of eight. The career was successful, with Vettel winning some championships. The next step was participating in the open-wheel racing, where he also saw success, winning the 2004 Formula BMW ADAC championship.
In the period from 2005 to 2007, Vetterl was racing in the various Formula 3 championships. He finished the 2005 Formula 3 Euro Series, securing the fifth place, and was a runner-up for the 2006 season. He also competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with success. The BMW Sauber Formula One team called Vettel to race for them after his serious results in the 2007 season.
Vettel is not the only driver with an impressive early career. If you want to bet on the sport and are searching for the “next Vettel,” you can follow the F1 news and analyze the odds on online betting websites such as 1xBet.
Red Bull’s Prodigy: First Steps in Formula 1
2006 was the start of his Formula 1 career, which lasted for 16 years. During that year, he was a test driver for the BMW Sauber at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, as well as the Italian one. He debuted in 2007, replacing Robert Kubica for the 2007 United States Grand Prix in June. He finished in the 8th position, ending up the youngest driver to score a point in the F1 race at the time.
In 2007, he started driving for Toro Rosso, one of two Formula 1 constructors owned by Red Bull (with the other being the Red Bull Racing). The start was strong: he appeared to have the third place locked in during the Japanese Grand Prix until he collided with Webber’s car, taking both of them out of the race. At the Chinese Grand Prix in October, Vettel achieved his career-best finish at that point, coming in fourth.
2008 Italian Grand Prix – Youngest Ever Grand Prix Winner
He began the 2008 season struggling, unable to finish several of his early races. But things quickly improved, with Sebastian winning the Italian Grand Prix and becoming the youngest F1 driver to do so at the time. Vettel was 21.
The Red Bull Dominance – A Reign of Perfection
In 2009, Vettel started driving for Red Bull Racing. While he retired from his first race after a collision, he went off to win several others after that, including China, Great Britain, Japan, and Abu Dhabi.
2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Vettel Becomes the Youngest World Champion
Vettel started the 2010 season very strongly. He finished his first race, the Bahrain Grand Prix, in fourth place due to a mechanical failure. His first win of the season came at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the second race of the season. Together with a teammate, Mark Webber, they continued to dominate the season, taking turns finishing in first and second places.
As the season was coming to a close with the final race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso, a Ferrari driver, had the most points and was a favorite for many. Vettel started the race with a 15-point deficit to Alonso. However, Fernando made several errors, finishing in seventh place. Vettel won the race and overcame the deficit, winning the World Championship title in 2010. At 23 years old, he became the youngest driver to receive it.
2011 Season – Total Domination With 15 Pole Positions
The 2011 season saw Vettel starting stronger than ever: he won the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix. He finished second at the Chinese Grand Prix despite several technical issues, mainly related to radio malfunction. Some of these problems persisted during the next race, the Monaco Grand Prix, which Vettel still managed to win. He had fourteen successive front-row starts and eleven successive top-two finishes that season before finishing fourth in the German Grand Prix. He continued winning the races and finishing in top positions, becoming the second driver after Michael Schumacher to have ten wins in one season. The final race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix, saw Vettel winning again, becoming the World Champion for the second consecutive year. And his 15 pole positions broke the records.
2013 Indian Grand Prix – A Fourth Consecutive Title and the Donut Celebration
Vettel’s 2012 season was full of issues and problems, including collisions, technical errors, and malfunctions. But Sebastian proved that his skill matters the most and still managed to win the World Championship title that year, becoming the third driver in the history of F1 to do so.
The 2013 season was also quite interesting, with Vettel starting very strong, finishing in pole positions at the first two races, and winning the third one, the Malaysian Grand Prix. The win had some controversy since he ignored team orders and passed his teammate Webber.
Nevertheless, Sebastian continued to dominate the season, winning several other races, including Bahrain, Canada, Germany (winning his home race for the first time), Singapore, and Korea. He broke the record for most consecutive wins with 9 victories. Vettel won the World Championship title that year, his fourth consecutive one.
After the season’s final, the Indian Grand Prix, Vettel celebrated his first place with a series of so-called “donuts,” burnouts with circular patterns done with a steering wheel set in one direction. Many regard this as one of the best-looking and most emotional celebrations in F1 to this day.
Ferrari Years – A Fight for Glory
The series of consecutive wins ended in 2014. Vettel faced many reliability issues with his car during that season, which resulted in him failing to win any races. It was the first time this happened to a defending World Champion since Jacques Villeneuve in the 1998 season.
Vettel left the team to join Ferrari. It was one year before his contract was due to expire. The move was not surprising: there were rumors even years before that, and Vettel himself mentioned several times about the possibility of racing for Ferrari. This is how the new chapter of his career started.
2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – A Dream Ferrari Victory
Vettel started the 2015 season by finishing third in the Australian Grand Prix. He won the next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix. This was his first win since 2013 and the first victory for Ferrari in nearly two years.
Vettel strongly continued the season, winning several races, most notably the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Singapore Grand Prix, the latter being Ferrari’s first victory in three years. Sebastian finished the season in third place and deemed it a very successful one. And with three wins and 13 podiums, it would be difficult to argue with that statement.
The 2016 season was much less successful due to several issues. For example, during the Russian Grand Prix, Sebastian retired from the race after two collisions with Kvyat before finishing the first lap. Nevertheless, he achieved seven podium positions during the season, even though he failed to win any races.
2017 and 2018 Title Battles – Taking the Fight to Mercedes
The 2017 and 2018 seasons marked a return to form for Vettel and featured an aggressive rivalry with Lewis Hamilton, a Mercedes driver. Let’s see how it all unfolded.
The 2017 season offered a great start for Vettel: he won the Australian Grand Prix, his first victory in 1,5 years. He won a few more races and was a runner-up in China and Russia. He led the season with 25 points after the Monaco Grand Prix. After the summer break, Mercedes started dominating the season, with Lewis Hamilton being quite a remarkable driver. Vettel started losing the lead but still had a strong position. The season ended with Hamilton being the Champion and Vettel securing the second position.
2018 had an interesting start since the media dubbed it the “Fight for Five.” It was the first time in the history of the F1 that two champions with four titles each would start the season. Vettel started the season with a victory, winning the Australian Grand Prix like he did a year before that. The race also marked his 100th podium. He continued the season strongly, winning several races and maintaining a lead. He lost it during the French Grand Prix but quickly returned to form during the next race: the British Grand Prix. The season ended with Hamilton yet again winning the title, and Vettel ended up second.
2019 German Grand Prix – From Last to Second in a Stunning Comeback
The 2019 season had the Ferrari fans’ hopes high since Vettel and his teammate, Leclerc, had great cars. Pre-season testing also provided very solid results. Either way, the start of the season was less impressive than expected, with Vettel finishing in fourth place in Australia, followed by third-place results in two races after that.
The German Grand Prix was probably the most impressive race for Vettel during that season. He had a technical issue with his car’s turbo, which resulted in him starting in the last place. And the mixed weather conditions were not on his side. He managed to improve his position at the end of the first lap, reaching the 14th place. He continued to move forward. He was the 8th at the beginning of the lap 34 and finished the races in second place, which was an unexpected feat, considering that he started the last.
The remaining races saw Vettel being less successful due to several issues, including the collision with Leclerc during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel finished the season in the fifth position.
The next season, the 2020 one, was his last one at Ferrari. It was a very disappointing one, with Vettel finishing 13th and his best result being third place in Turkey.
The Final Chapter – Aston Martin and the Farewell
Let’s take a look at the last two years of Vettel’s career. After the 2020 season, he joined Aston Martin as a replacement for Sergio Pérez. The start of the 2021 season was not successful: Vettel received penalties and finished the race in 15th place during the first race.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix resulted in Vettel’s first podium during the season. He finished the race in second place. He had the same result in Hungary later but was disqualified due to technical issues. The season was disappointing, with Sebastian finishing in 12th place.
The 2022 season featured an even weaker start, with Vettel skipping the first two races due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. He announced that he would retire at the end of the year. He finished his last season in 12th place.
Conclusion
Vettel is now retired, but he definitely left the mark on the sport. Our article evaluated his influence on F1 and how his career unfolded. Sebastian became the youngest driver to win the World Championship title and one of the few to have several consecutive titles. After all, his winning streak of four years was shockingly impressive and will remain in the sports history books forever.
What made him so great? For starters, he was fast and had a tremendous ability to pull a gap during his prime quickly. He knew how to race even in very difficult conditions and has proven that several times during his career, some of which we mentioned in this article. And we should not underestimate the cars. For example, the Red Bull RB9 he raced during the 2013 season was an amazing piece of engineering. Its two predecessors, the RB7 and RB8, were also very powerful and quick while offering a significant level of reliability.
