Formula 1 Driver Details

Sebastian Vettel

Data and Statistics

Date of Birth June 28, 1987 Championships 6 (1 Won)
Place of Birth Heppenheim, DEU Grand Prix 81 (21 Won)
Nationality DEU Career Points 773
Weight/Height 62 kg / 176 cm Podiums 36
First GP June 13, 2007 Poles 30
Last GP November 22, 2011 Fastest Laps 10
Constructors BMW Sauber , Red Bull, Toro Rosso Highest Position 1 (x21)
Website www.sebastianvettel.de Highest Pole 1 (x21)
Pole
Position
Race
Position
Race
Points
Year/Team12345678910111213141516171819PtsPos
2012
Red Bull Racing
AUS
1826
MYS
0115
CHN
10511
BHR
2511
ESP
867
               611
2011
Red Bull Racing
AUS
2511
MYS
2511
CHN
1821
TUR
2511
ESP
2512
MCO
2511
CAN
1821
EUR
2511
GBR
1822
DEU
1243
HUN
1821
BEL
2511
ITA
2511
SGP
2511
JPN
1531
KOR
2512
IND
2511
ARE
0RET1
BRA
1821
3921
2010
Red Bull Racing
BHR
1241
AUS
0RET1
MYS
2513
CHN
861
ESP
1532
MCO
1823
TUR
0RET3
CAN
1242
EUR
2511
GBR
671
DEU
1531
HUN
1531
BEL
0154
ITA
1246
SGP
1822
JPN
2511
KOR
0RET1
BRA
2512
ARE
2511
2561
2009
Red Bull Racing
AUS
0133
MYS
01513
CHN
1011
BHR
823
ESP
542
MCO
0RET4
TUR
631
GBR
1011
DEU
824
HUN
0RET2
EUR
0RET4
BEL
638
ITA
189
SGP
542
JPN
1011
BRA
5415
ARE
1012
   842
2008
Scuderia Toro Rosso
AUS
0RET9
MYS
0RET15
BHR
0RET19
ESP
0RET18
TUR
01714
MCO
4519
CAN
1819
FRA
01212
GBR
0RET8
DEU
189
HUN
0RET11
EUR
366
BEL
4510
ITA
1011
SGP
456
JPN
369
CHN
096
BRA
547
  358
2007
BMW Sauber
       USA
187
    HUN
01620
TUR
01918
ITA
01816
BEL
0RET16
JPN
0RET8
CHN
5417
BRA
0RET13
   614
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Driver Bio

Sebastian Vettel was born in Heppenheim, Germany, in 1987. Under the care of the Red Bull Young Driver Development Program, the German progressed, passing through smaller categories to officially join Toro Rosso in 2007(Red Bull subsidiary), and since 2009 with the core team, alongside Mark Webber.

Vettel started in karting before moving to Formula BMW in 2003, where he took the rookie honors. The next year with little more confidence in him, dominated the championship winning 18 of the 20 races he entered. The next step was European F3 until he was signed by BMW Sauber as a test and reserve driver in 2006.

His first break came as a consequence of a heavy accident suffered by Robert Kubica (Canada 2007) that forced the latter to miss the next race at Indianapolis. Vettel took the Polish seat, scoring a solid seventh, and finishing the GP in eighth, taking with him a point in the process. That little demonstration encouraged Red Bull to bring him back, and therefore becoming full-time driver for Toro Rosso from the Hungarian Grand Prix and on. His early steps in Formula 1 in the second half of 2007 reflected a bit of an adjustment process; errors, and immaturity were present, but an excellent 4th place in a rainy Chinese GP, just hinted his immense talent.

He earned his first victory in the torrential Italian GP of 2008, providing a clear view of his skills as a driver and raising high the expectations about his potential. Sebastian finished sixth in the overall standings, for which he got promoted to big team.

In 2009, Red Bull came to prominence and almost without warning to the rest of the field. Vettel finished the championship second, Webber fourth and the team finished just behind Ferrari in the constructors' championship. Vettel racked up four wins with eight podium finishes; however, three retirements due to mechanical problems, and odd performances in the first two Grand Prix, where immaturity might have played a trick on him, cost him valuable points . Perhaps with a little more luck he could have snatched the title out of Jenson Button.

We did not have to wait long to see a change in luck, let’s see why. At the very end of the 2010 season, just before the Abu Dhabi GP, Vettel was third in the standings. This meant that most of the attention was focused on his team mate Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, first and second respectively.
At the race, Ferrari's tyre change strategy was ill fated, and the Spaniard was left stuck behind in 7th behind Petrov. While this was happening Vettel cruised from pole and took victory, and with that the necessary points to claim the title over a perplexed Alonso. It is fair to note that Vettel got the same number of wins that Alonso with five, but had 10 pole positions, eight more than the Ferrari man; therefore to attribute his championship partly to a mistake would be extreme.

The year 2011 merely served to confirm Vettel as a serious contender to champion each year he decides to compete. The level of dominance exhibited by of native Heppenheim had no equal. Eleven wins, 17 podiums and 15 poles (breaking Mansell’s record…yes we know, with more races in the calendar). He sealed his championship in Japan with four races to go.

Many believe that Sebastian Vettel will emulate or pass Michael Schumacher's seven Formula 1 titles. His incredible speed enhanced by the consistency with which he keeps in almost each lap of a race, combined with his maturity and concentration in the track, one can predict that with a competitive car, Vettel will be in the headlines for many years.

Alfonso Duro / Gustavo A Roche

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F1 Standings

Drivers
Teams
1 Sebastian
Vettel
61
2 Fernando
Alonso
61
3 Lewis
Hamilton
53
1 Red Bull Racing 109
2 Ferrari 63
3 McLaren 98

View complete standings table »