"I'll see you at the podium": When 4x Red Bull champion prophesized a stunning result after starting from the pitlane

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner once claimed that Sebastian Vettel prophesized a stunning comeback after he started from pit lane at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The German driver had qualified P3 at the Yas Marina Circuit but was disqualified from qualifying due to insufficient fuel in his car and was sent to the back of the grid.

Vettel and the Austrian team took the opportunity to make changes to the car and started from the pitlane, avoiding the opening lap chaos to make some ground. He was chasing his third successive world championship and led Fernando Alonso in the title race.

After getting lucky with safety car interruptions and expertly making his way through the grid, Sebastian Vettel finished on the podium in P3 and was just a place behind his title rival.

As per The Guardian, the Red Bull team boss revealed that the German driver had already predicted his podium finish ahead of the race start and said:

"Seb told me before the race: 'I'll see you on the podium.' He was absolutely convinced going into the race he was going to get a great result. He drove a phenomenal race, one of the best of his life."

McLaren driver Jenson Button, who finished P4 and was the victim of Vettel's stunning overtaking that denied the former a podium, cheekily praised the world champion and added:

"He was dead lucky. I mean, both safety cars worked for him. But he was still quick. He would have finished fourth, even without the last safety car. So it would still have been a bloody good drive."

The P3 finish was crucial in the German driver's quest to secure the title, which he completed two races later in Brazil with a gap of three points from Alonso. Sebastian Vettel went on to win four consecutive championships with the Austrian team before leaving them for Ferrari in 2015.

When Red Bull driver spoke about his "thrilling" Abu Dhabi GP comeback

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel once stated that the safety car stoppages at the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix helped him secure the podium and retain his title lead over Fernando Alonso.

As per CNN, the then-Red Bull driver spoke about the P3 finish and said:

“The second safety car helped, and then I had a nice fight with Jenson (Button). It was a thrilling grand prix, up and down all the time. There are still two races to go. We saw how things can change yesterday. There was a chance we could screw it up, but we didn’t do that.”

Red Bull driver had another podium finish the following weekend in Austin, Texas, where he finished within a second of Lewis Hamilton at the chequered flag and came home in P2.