Is Sebastian Vettel the driving force behind Red Bull's success?

Adrain Newey( Left) and Sebastian Vettel (center)- A lethal combination for Red Bull

There has been a debate among the critics whether it’s Vettel’s driving ability that has earned him 3 World Driver Championships or is it the technical prowess of the Red Bull cars that has powered the German to great heights. Many consider Vettel to be lucky as he has been given the most powerful car. Are the critics are right to undermine Vettel’s credentials?

Seb’s Early Years:

Vettel’s love for racing knew no bounds. He joined amateur karting at a very young age of 3.5 years and started to penetrate into the racing world at a very young age. Apart from his love for the sport, he had shown immense promise as a driver as he gained entry into the Red Bull junior team at an young age of 11. From there on, Vettel never turned back as he went on clinching titles in the junior level at a rapid pace.

In 2004, after entering the open wheel racing, Sebastian won the Formula BMW championship, which was a gateway for his much awaited entry to the Formula One racing. He was recruited as Sauber’s test driver from 2006 until the mid of 2007 season. Vettel was offered a chance at 2007 United States GP . He secured eight position, thus becoming the youngest driver in sport’s history to score a point.

Stint With Torro-Rosso:

He was signed up by Torro-Rosso in the middle of 2007 season. Vettel’s performance raised the bar for Torro Rosso when their results showed significant improvement which ultimately led the Red Bull owner to call him as an young driver with extraordinary potential.

Vettel stepped on to the bigger stage at the 2008 Italian GP when he secured first position in a most dominant way becoming the youngest ever to win a Grand Prix. This led the German media to dub him as “Baby Schumi”. After an impressive performance in the Brazilian GP, nearly denying Hamilton the championship, he was named the Rookie of the Year by Autosport.

Entry into Red Bull:

Red Bull changed Vettel’s fortunes

Vettel’s entry into the Red Bull was the most significant step in his career, as the team helped to convert the enormous potential of the German into World championships.The technical team, led by Adrain Newey, designed the perfect chassis for the talented driver.

Till 2009, Red Bull was not seen as a dominant force, with only modest performances on the circuit. Vettel grabbed 2nd position in the 2009 season and the tide turned in Red Bull’s favor. The team ended in 2nd place in the World Constructors Championship.

2010 was entirely dominated by Red Bull cars with both Vettel and Webber securing 9 race victories together, taking the season’s Constructors Championship. Vettel became the youngest F1 champion beating Ferrari‘s Alonso by 4 points. 2011 saw Vettel at his peak and dominated the season with a 11 race victories to take the World Championship by a margin of 122 points over McLaren’s Jenson Button. It was largely due to the rear exhaust blown diffuser technology on which the Red Bull team had worked heavily. The diffuser helped in increasing the downforce which aided traction during fast corners, helping them to outscore their rivals by a big margin of 153 points at the end of the season.

FIA imposed a ban on the exhaust blown diffuser technology, which put the Red Bulls on the back foot. However, they somehow manged to out-think the rules and made the exhaust gas flow through the diffuser by making use of Coanda effect. Their rivals provided them with fierce competition this time and the season ended in a thrilling climax with Vettel clinching the Championship for the third consecutive time beating Alonso by just 3 points.

Sebastian Vettel + Adrain Newey = Red Bull’s success :

Vettel’s three World Championships is due to the technical superiority of his car is more of an understatement. His teammate, Australian Mark Webber who joined the Red Bull racing in 2007, failed to win a single title and had won just 9 races compared to Vettel’s 28 race wins and 3 World Championships in a space of just 3.5 years.

Vettel had been consistent right from his younger stages of his career. He was hinted for bigger things at the early years in his F1 career. He has the enthusiasm for car racing and has become obsessed with winning races. He had made it a habit. It was quite evident in the 2013 Malaysian GP where he disobeyed the “Multi-21″ code and overtook Webber to win the Grand Prix.

Red Bull couldn’t have won 3 Constructors Championships without the services of the 26-year-old. Its the combination of immense talent, passion and dedication of Vettel and the technical mastery of Adrain Newey that has pushed the Ernston based racing team to great heights.

Earlier this month, Vettel extended his contract with Red Bull till 2015. So the German has got the opportunity to grab 3 more titles unless their rivals do something out of the box. Currently, he is the leader of the driver’s pack with 132 points and is the favorite to win the title this year as well.

Vettel’s Responsibility in Future:

If Vettel is to achieve greatness, he should also try to win championships working with different teams as Juan Manuel Fangio did. The Argentine won 5 World Championships with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari). Schumacher won 7 World titles with 2 teams ( Benetton and Ferrari). Being an all time great is no joke. The hallmark of a great driver is determined by the way one influences the surrounding people and gathers right resources to develop a championship winning team.

Vettel may end up with 6 championships at the end of 2015, but it would only be with the same team, Red Bull Racing.