Sebastian Vettel: The world is his oyster

Sebastian Vettel

One is everywhere; the other is so very rare. Just a thin brittle line makes them so contrasting, but yet so similar. One’s a winner, the other is victorious. The one who clocks up 11 wins from 17 races, 4 championships, 37 wins, 43 pole positions all within just 2.5 decades of his existence, is a Racer. And the other.. he’s just a Driver.

Racers, unlike drivers, are born to crank up the engine when they want to- just for the pure pleasure of hitting the maximum revs, to put even the most palling comments behind their backs and focus on what’s priority. They’re the ones who do mistakes and learn from them. And most importantly – To win – in such a way, that his competitors appear on track almost half a minute after he has done half another lap, looking like Goliath(s) in front of a mighty David. And to win in such a way that people never doubt his supremacy.

A racer who is more enthralled in step-by-step and gradual improvement (unlike the likes of other drivers on the grid) is Sebastian Vettel – a paradox of a person, who is a slow taker in life, but blitzes on track with his Hungry Heidi.

Once again, he crossed the line with tears under the helmet and with the emotion, you’d imagine to be felicity or even pride outside, to be crowned the youngest ever consecutive quadruple world champion. Add to that, crowning each and every member of his team a quadruple world champion having reeled in the constructor’s championship with those valuable 25 points that India offered to RedBull and their golden boy, making them the most successful team driver partnership after Ferrari/Schumacher.

Those who watched the great Argentinian Manuel Fangio race in the golden ages of Formula One, would’ve never thought about a Michael Schumacher to completely dominate the sport and label himself as one of the greatest of the greats. And when we watched Michael race with the cherry red Ferrari, we never would have expected another adept and successful partnership like Ferrari/Schumacher once again exposing us to another ‘era’ of Formula One under the name of the ‘Vettel/RedBull era’.For fans, the four years have been ho hum (Minus 2012, which was nailbiting and interesting). RedBull was a storm that basically wiped out any team blocking their path. And Vettel? Well, we never really got to see him for he was always out of the screen, far away into the lead and driving flawlessly and perfectly- which for the human race isn’t the most interesting thing to watch (We always love the underdog). And so did he get all the boos from around the world. Starting from Silverstone, to Canada, Monza, Belgium and Singapore. He did joke about it calling them ‘fans on a tour bus’, but after his post Indian GP win, he talked about mental support from his family that kept him strong through all of the undeserved battering. While there was uproar against the newly crowned world champion among the spectators, we saw Niki Lauda take his hat off (rare feat) for Sebastian during the Singapore Grand Prix.

“If the good lord had mixed a cocktail with all the best features of a racing driver, Sebastian Vettel is the result,” the three time world champion, and an executive of Mercedes, Niki Lauda was quoted by Auto Bild.

And so said they all, from Alain Prost, to Michael Schumacher to even Lewis Hamilton! He wrote: Seb is great champion. Not only that, he is a great human being who is funny and humble. Deserves all the success he is having. I admire his dedication and ability to consistently perform without mistakes. This is the mark of a true champion.”

After the 3 perfect donuts on the main straight for the fans, a bow down to his Hungry Heidi and a reprimand for himself (+ $25000 fine), Vettel celebrated his becoming of the 4th driver in 60 year old sport to become the youngest ever 4 time world champion and only the 3rd racer to achieve them consecutively.

Perhaps for those who have just a passing interest may turn off the TV to watch another sport which generally showcases interesting finales, but the story behind Vettel’s success goes deeper than just the surface reason: “it’s the car”.

Yes, it’s Adrian ‘the genius’ Newey who has always stretched the rules, ‘interpreted’ it in different ways (A phrase which we failed to understand) and produce the most aerodynamically efficient car on the grid, no matter what changes the FIA constantly bring about with the probable hope that it might shuffle the order.

But Sebastian Vettel’s driving has turned the best car on the grid to a championship winning car. Something which teammate has failed to do the last 4 years. In 2010, spectators and pundits would’ve easily picked out a hundred faults with his driving. But since then the number has certainly dropped to a near nil this season. Bar the British Grand Prix, when he retired leading from the front, Vettel has never finished below P4 in the last 19 races. And after the summer break, it looked like he had rented out the top step of the podium after winning 9 races consecutively.

It’s believed that we see our true selves only when we go through the most difficult times because it makes us stronger. And so is the story of a world champion who held his head high through thick and thin, a true racer, rare to find and surely one in a billion.

Kudos to Sebastian Vettel, beyond all modesty he exhibits on air, is the unifying bond that holds the Red Bull team together to keep their spirits high and motivated to want more.