"That is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in Grand Prix Racing": When Sebastian Vettel's spectacular drive left F1 commentator emotional

Former F1 commentator James Allen once mentioned that Sebastian Vettel winning the 2008 Italian GP with Toro Rosso was "one of the greatest things" he'd seen in the sport. The German driver was competing in his first full season in the pinnacle of motorsport with the Faenza-based outfit after making some appearances for BMW Sauber in 2007.

Vettel had replaced the injured Robert Kubica in the team and made his debut in USA but was released by Sauber after the race to join the Red Bull junior team in Hungary. The German driver was part of the Red Bull junior Academy but had a tricky start to his 2008 season as he was the only driver after four races to not score a point.

But after scoring points in Monaco, he turned a corner. Sebastian Vettel took a surprise pole position in the wet conditions at the Italian Grand Prix. Whilst many expected him to tumble down the grid, the Toro Rosso driver kept his position and led the race from the front.

On his final lap of the race, then F1 commentator James Allen expressed his disbelief over the feat and said (20:40 onwards):

"It's the other team from Italy, the little one, Toro Rosso, gets its moment in the sun. Sebastian Vettel is a Grand Prix winner for the first time. He's the youngest ever and that's one of the greatest things I've ever seen in Grand Prix Racing."

Reflecting on his win, the 21-year-old said (via Motorsport.com):

“When I crossed the chequered flag, I realised I had just won the race, it was unbelievable to see all the people going crazy around the circuit. It was the best lap I ever did in Monza. Obviously it was not the fastest, but for sure it was the best one.”

Vettel later joined the senior team in 2009 and took four consecutive Drivers' championships from 2010 to 2013 before leaving them at the end of the 2014 season to join Ferrari.

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When Sebastian Vettel spoke about his habit of keeping notes

Former four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel previously stated that he loved to keep notes and preferred to write with pen and paper.

As per Crash.net, the German driver said in 2020 about his habit:

“In general I love to take notes. I take digital notes with an iPad a bit now, but I prefer just pen and paper. When you write with a pen, it’s like you write it into your head, you remember it. Also, these days, the hardware in the iPad or computer changes so often, and while I’m very organized in life, with that stuff, I’m not so organized.

"But if I write it down, I’m not going to chuck the notebooks away, I still have notebooks from 2007 and so on. They are useless now, but they are still there. They are all stacked up in a bookshelf.”

Sebastian Vettel joined Aston Martin for two seasons in 2021 and 2022 before calling time on his career at the end of his two-year stint with the British team.