Sebastian Vettel will remain with Red Bull until at least the end of 2015, the team has confirmed.
It extends his previous contract by one year.
Vettel, who joined the team in 2009, scored his 29th career victory on Sunday. All bar one of them were achieved with the Milton Keynes team, for whom he also won the last three world championships.
The 25-year-old was rumoured to be considering a move to Ferrari last year. But the team later stated it would not pair Fernando Alonso with a driver of Vettel’s calibre.
Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber is contracted to the team until the end of this year.
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Image © Red Bull/Getty
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
11th June 2013, 18:13
Great news!!!
Spawinte (@spawinte)
11th June 2013, 18:16
Does this match Neweys contract?
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
11th June 2013, 18:19
Ohhh, Nando will be haapy and at ease now….
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
11th June 2013, 18:22
*edit; happy , (with the confirmtion, he knows now that the next driver after Massa will the a clear nr2)
Kingshark (@kingshark)
11th June 2013, 19:32
@il-ferrarista
I’m pretty sure that ‘Nando is no more scared of Seb than Seb is of Nando. ;-)
Nevertheless, I notice that most of the big contracts are ending at around the same period. Alonso in 2016, Vettel in 2015, and Hamilton in 2015. Hopefully we’ll finally get a big drivers’ market shuffle around that period of time.
dennis (@dennis)
12th June 2013, 16:10
You know what will happen.
http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/kimi_pwnz.jpg
MNM101 (@mnm101)
13th June 2013, 2:17
@dennis LOL good one
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2013, 19:28
Lets see if Vettel can be happy and at ease now.. after another #2 driver joins the Red Bull squad for 2014. Ricciardo should definitely put a smile on Vettel’s face.
anon
12th June 2013, 2:17
He tried to go to Ferrari but Alonso vetoed that.
Even if Kimi goes to Red Bull and Vettel blow him away it won’t change anyone’s opinion about Vettel. They’ll just say that the team is built around Vettel and Kimi never had a chance.
M Dickens (@sgt-pepper)
12th June 2013, 13:23
Would Vettel ever ‘blow Kimi away’ though?
I highly doubt it. And Vettel will veto any chance of Kimi getting in a Newey car anyway.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 18:45
Kimi and Seb are friends away from the track and so far there are no signs that Vettel would veto him driving for RBR.
And SC certainly didn’t veto Kimi’s chances of driving for Mclaren in 02-06. :P
Breno (@austus)
11th June 2013, 19:30
If Ferrari were to hire Vettel, they would probably fire Alonso.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
11th June 2013, 19:33
@austus
Are you suggesting that in 2016 we’ll get a similar situation at Ferrari as we did in 2006? Raikkonen sort-of forcing Schumacher out of the team, but in all fairness, in hindsight that was a mistake from Ferrari.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
11th June 2013, 20:21
No, like 2010 at Ferrari!
stefano (@alfa145)
11th June 2013, 20:23
…yeah considering they won WDC the first year after that, it was such a mistake
Kingshark (@kingshark)
11th June 2013, 20:42
@alfa145
Schumacher would never have spectacularly blown 2008 like Raikkonen did. Ferrari had the fastest car that year, but the drivers threw away the WDC. I’m also not convinced that Massa would have beaten Schumi as often nor easily as he beat Raikkonen.
Ferrari have learned by now that replacing their #1 driver with another top driver doesn’t always work, especially if they are merely guessing that he will be better.
tmax (@tmax)
12th June 2013, 3:13
If Alonso does not win a WDC by 2015 and if Vettel or some other top talent is ready for 2016 Ferrari seat, Alonso will be shown the door. No doubts. No Point for Ferrari to carry a No 1 Driver @$38 Million without winning the world championship in 6 Years. Then there is no difference between him and Massa if that is the case. That is too much a grace period whatever be the reason behind it be it bad car or Bad luck.
dkpioe
12th June 2013, 13:57
@Kingshark,
Massa drove like a champion in 2008, even if Raikonnen was getting bored of f1. the ferrari was matched by Mclaren, where Hamilton was the one that nearly threw away the championship. Massa would have beaten Schumacher, he was already beating him in schumachers last season at ferrari. it can also be argued Shumacher spectacularly blew his whole f1 return.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 18:47
Dkpioe – Massa didn’t beat Schumacher.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
11th June 2013, 18:22
Vettel and Alonso last renewed their contract with their current teams in 2011: Vettel to 2014, Alonso to 2016. Vettel’s latest deal takes him up to 2015. Hamilton’s Mercedes deal also takes him up to 2015.
So the big names are all in place for a few more years and each is aligned to one of the three engine suppliers (Cosworth are expected to leave and Honda won’t arrive until 2015).
Häkä
11th June 2013, 18:41
Kimi is not big name?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
11th June 2013, 18:54
OK, ‘biggest names’.
liam (@)
11th June 2013, 21:42
Until Alonso improves in quali..He’s off my big name list. just stroked his name off, he nots getting back in my book until he gets pole. lol
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
11th June 2013, 21:58
ALonso qualifying, bad, yeah? This is really offtopic, but I think it is the cars fault, much of it. :-)
dot_com (@dot_com)
11th June 2013, 22:35
How can there even be a “big names” list without Alonso on it? Seriously?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
11th June 2013, 18:24
Am I the only one that really wants to see what SV can do with another team?
would be great for him, and the sport, if he moved outside his confort zone like Alonso did and Hamilton did recently. Just to spice things up…
DaveF1 (@davef1)
11th June 2013, 18:35
Nope, you’re not the only one. I’d love to see Seb at another team but there aren’t many top seats available that he could take up.
As much as I’d like to see it, Ferrari have denied Vettel will be joined them for the time being and I don’t see why he’d want to leave the most successful team at moment. Perhaps if the 2014 rules shake up the pecking order and a another team joins the top crop (a bit like Red Bull and Mercedes did in 2009) then maybe we could see him move.
Broom (@)
11th June 2013, 19:05
I think 2014’s regulations should see the closest thing. But I think now he is an extremely polished driver.
Fixy (@)
11th June 2013, 19:13
Toro Rosso is another team. He FRICKIN’ WON AT MONZA FROM POLE! :P
Seriously though, that’s quite impressive now that I think of it ;)
Fixy (@)
11th June 2013, 19:14
@fer-no65 of course ;)
D (@f190)
11th June 2013, 19:51
Bourdais qualified 4th….
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2013, 20:00
@f190 – …1 second slower than Vettel, and was 43 seconds slower in the race despite Vettel backing off towards the end.
matt90 (@matt90)
11th June 2013, 20:16
Where did you get 43 second from? He was one lap down, having started from the pit lane after stalling on the grid.
D (@f190)
11th June 2013, 21:40
1 second slower in a wet quali where I believe Vettel set an early time means very little. In the other session Bourdais was only 0.1 slower which underlines the pace of the car. It will always be a ffantastic result for Vettel, but people need to keep things in perspective. I seriously doubt t he could stick the current rosso on pole and win.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
12th June 2013, 0:31
@f190 Don’t forget Bourdais had a wet setup and Vettel had a dry setup
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 0:36
@matt90 –
117 seconds > 160 seconds.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 0:49
@f190 –
Q1 is much less representative of the driver’s respective pace than Q2 or Q3, where the gap was much more than 0.1 seconds. Though it would be impossible to win for STR now, the “Bourdais qualified 4th” statement gets bandied around when a) he was far slower than his teammate, and b) indeed, as @raymondu999 points out, SB had the better setup for the conditions.
alexferrari
12th June 2013, 19:37
and finished the WDC with 4 points. Vettel: 35.
Anon
11th June 2013, 20:01
Don’t see why Vettel should move outside RedBull to please some quarters who don’t give a squat about him except for their personal egos. I know it sounds harsh, but that’s reality
William Katz (@hwkii)
12th June 2013, 2:50
If I were still winning races and championships, I would not leave the team that’s given me those opportunities just to make some people on the internet happy.
In a lot of ways, Lewis Hamilton’s decision makes sense – move to an unknown team because the known quantity isn’t providing the opportunities that you’d hoped for. The unknown potential of the Mercedes move, in his mind, outweighed the known potential of the McLaren team. This is not so different from why teams replace reasonably talented, known drivers with younger unknowns (See: Kobayashi, Kamui). On the other hand, we as a society tend to view the rightness or wrongness of decisions based on their outcome, which is where get the phrase about hindsight being 20/20. (See, MP4/28, McLaren)
Ironically, unwillingness to make bold moves is likely why Lewis left McLaren. And then the bold move they do make, bites them square in the butt.
MDS
11th June 2013, 20:17
When did Alonso move out of his comfort zone? He left Minardi to go to a better team. He left Renault to go to the big and mighty Mclaren, which backfired heavily forcing him back to Renault. After that he left to the big and mighty Ferrari, a move that was made when Kimi had the number 1 on his Ferrari, Massa was in the running for the WDC, Ferrari was the reigning WCC winning constructor and was first in the standings for 2008 too.
If you want him to mimic Alonso and go to a better team one day, that will happen. But he’d be a clear fool to do so right now, when he is in that good a team.
I’ll give you credit for Hamilton, but since 2007 it didn’t really go to plan at Mclaren and he probably thought the situation wasn’t going to improve anytime soon.
Everybody always changes for the better, whenever they have a choice.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
11th June 2013, 22:04
+0,5. Although I’m an Alonso fan, I do to a certain extent agree with you.
Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
12th June 2013, 1:05
+1
especially “Everybody always changes for the better, whenever they have a choice.”
Otherwise it means they are history.
Even Hamilton’s move to Mercedes is a move to a better team. Mercedes have a plan to be the best team in F1 and Hamilton was shown that plan when he was offered the seat because he’s part of the plan , together with all other people Mercedes are pouching from the other teams.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 3:39
@debeluhi For what it’s worth, take a look at this:
1995
Benetton-Renault – 137 pts. (Won WDC in 1995)
Williams-Renault – 112 pts. (Last won WDC in 1993)
Ferrari – 73 pts. (Last won WDC in 1979)
At the end of that season, Michael Schumacher moved to Ferrari.
People don’t always change to what is better. People change because they want to make something better.
Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
12th June 2013, 4:33
I agree with you, they move because they want to make something better but I believe that when the best drivers move to a team that’s not at the top they know that the team is very serious to get to the top. The driver can’t make a team good by himself. Schumacher moved to Ferrari but so did Ros Brown and the rest of the team that made Ferrari win again. He knew it will take a time but he also knew they’ll get there. He said that he’ll never drive for a lesser team just to stay in F1. That’s why Ferrari is usually the last team of the good F1 drivers. Same goes for Hamilton. I think he and the whole Mercedes team are a bit surprised by the competitiveness they enjoy at the moment. They are really getting ready for the next season.
h'heim2000 (@benj-yam)
12th June 2013, 3:33
well moving back to renault in 2008 was in a sense out of his comfort zone but still he managed to win 2GPs (1 if you don’t count Singapore 2008)
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 11:12
That was at least partially self-inflicted- he fell out spectacularly with Mclaren and had nowhere else to go at the time.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 3:30
@fer-no65 Nope. I’ve been pushing for a Vettel move to Ferrari for years now. :)
dkpioe
12th June 2013, 14:18
I dont think Hamilton moved out of his comfort zone nor did Alonso, if anything they have found their comfort zone, but Vettel already has that, so why change.
Skan
12th June 2013, 19:32
Alonso and Hamilton moved as they won nothing with their current teams, and out of desperation. Vettel has no reason to consider a move. He has been winning everything that there may not be too many records that he doesnt own when he finishes his current contract. I would like Vettel and Redbull to go on a bigger domination than even the Ferrari and Schumacher days.
scuderia_fan85 (@scuderia_fan85)
11th June 2013, 18:25
the more I think about it, the more I believe RBR would fear that pairing because of Kimi’s high talent level and is very capable of beating their “golden boy”. but Mateschitz wants Kimi at RBR, so it has a high possibility of happening.
Wallbreaker (@wallbreaker)
11th June 2013, 18:30
It’s interesting he renewed the contract for only one more year. He doesn’t seem to be too sure about where to go in 3 years.
rambler
11th June 2013, 18:33
2014 is a big unknown and maybe he’s willing to give it at least 2 years with new rules in case they’d fail. Seems reasonable
Wallbreaker (@wallbreaker)
11th June 2013, 18:31
Ah, this shouldn’t be a reply, my mistake.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2013, 18:34
I doubt Kimi would beat Vettel, but even if he did, then it’s likely RBR would keep winning championships. They’d have no reason to be displeased with that.
Macca1977
12th June 2013, 21:36
I’m positive that Kimi would beat Vettel. He is just a better driver. As simple as that.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 22:44
Better how? I haven’t seen Vettel squander a car like the 2008 Ferrari yet.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
11th June 2013, 20:41
It always baffles me that people seem to think Red Bull is owned by papa Vettel, who only made the racing team to have his son race around on Sunday and have fun.
I know it can be painful to have to give an ounce of credit to Vettel, but if you think Red Bull would not hire a better driver than Vettel if there was one available, you are out of your mind.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th June 2013, 21:36
I really highly doubt Kimi would beat Vettel: he may have an ounce more natural talent but Vettel is very…German…with the way in which he scrutinises every single detail about his performance and hones his driving down to the finest detail puts him a step above Kimi IMO.
I say Kimi “may” have more natural speed also as Vettel is very fast in qualifying and I actually doubt anyone bar Hamilton could beat him (and even Hamilton wouldn’t exactly embarrass him). So the thought that Räikkönen may beat Vettel isn’t even crossing my mind.
tmax (@tmax)
12th June 2013, 3:15
+1
scuderia_fan85 (@scuderia_fan85)
12th June 2013, 3:29
ur a fool. u would need to put some kinda condiment on ur bitter words when ur forced to eat them
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th June 2013, 8:21
@scuderia_fan85 I don’t think I’m the bitter one here…
scuderia_fan85 (@scuderia_fan85)
12th June 2013, 14:23
maybe not. who really cares…my point is this; having stronger competition from a TEAMMATE will make him push harder and hence more mistakes. even on his own accord(last few laps of Motnreal GP) he made a few errors that could of cost him victory. his mind isn’t that experienced yet and that’s what Kimi would use, along with immense talent(speed, consistency) and…
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th June 2013, 21:52
@scuderia_fan85 oh absolutely he’d make stener competition than Webber and push Vettel on but I think he could cope with the pressure: remember the end of 2010, where the “rookie” of the quartet kept his nerve and won the championship unexpectedly whilst the bigs guns fell back (not necessarily of their own accord, but still)? ;)
Manished
12th June 2013, 5:01
EBD effect is demolished next year.
The car will be rear limited due to more torque in the running. Rear end instability gonna be an issues.
Saving fuel will be as crucial as saving tyres.
Everything works in favor of Kimi ‘s preferences of oversteer balance, economic driving styles.
I doubt Vettel could beat him that rely heavily on EBD effect. He struggled immensely last year until rbr introduce heavily revamped ramp style coanda to replicate similar ebd effect.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 5:56
I wouldn’t say he “struggled immensely”. Vettel won Bahrain, led the championship for a few races in the first half of the year, and only an alternator failiure prevented him from retaking that lead emphatically, and becoming the first repeat winner of 2012.
Manished
12th June 2013, 7:55
he was outshoned by webber in first half of the season. That alone said it all when he almost doubled webber’s point currently.
Yea, immensely i’d say.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
12th June 2013, 9:30
so being beaten in 3 races is your definition of outshone?
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 11:19
I don’t know what “outshoned” is, but Webber could only beat Vettel on merit in Monaco, Britain and China. How that is representative of the entire first half of the season I will never know. How you ignored just about everything I told you, I also don’t know.
Maybe we ought to say Raikkonen “struggled immensely” because he was 8th in Canada 2012 with Grosjean up in 2nd?
Manished
12th June 2013, 11:27
because he almost doubled the points deficit to webber in 2013??
Vettel also admitted himself for suffering with the car due to the weakened EBD effect.
From the mouth of his own. Anyone trying to denied it need to do a better job.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 11:54
What are you on about? In 2012, the year being referred to, Vettel was ahead of Webber, save for a small handful of races, and times when Vettel had mechanical failures.
Yet the results clearly showed him to be in the mix with the other top drivers. If that was SV “struggling immensely”, then you have no business suggesting that someone else can move over to Red Bull and start beating him.
puneeth Bharath (@puneethvb)
12th June 2013, 6:01
Am no Vettel fan but TBH I dont see Kimi beating vettel if he were to drive for RB… Kimi will probably give Vettel a much sterner test than Mark was able to give post 2010 but I still expect vettel to have the upper hand …
Manished
12th June 2013, 7:58
People were saying how lewis gonna beat the crap out of Rosberg last year.
The common stereotype more often than not are subjective rather than objective.
Let’s see if Rbr even dares to offer kimi the contract for 2014. If not, we knew why they were concerned. After-all, they are the one with telemetry data hence better evaluation.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
12th June 2013, 8:20
Yes, with Hamilton moving to Mercedes? That is the main reason why Rosberg has been beating him – Hamilton is still leaning the team and the car. Räikkönen if anything would be a at greater disadvantage in that respect as the downforce levels traditionally are significantly different between the Lotus and Red Bull.
He wasn’t outshone by Webber either at the start of 2012, that’s just a common misconception. Vettel lost 12 points at least in Malaysia and 25 in Valencia, which more than accounts for the gap.
Manished
12th June 2013, 8:26
I never knew driving a car with more down-force gonna hurt.
I can only imagine how Kimi gonna struggle in RBR, “power steering”. However, a big team like rbr with more resource will sort it out quicker than Lotus that yet to provide Kimi a perfect power steering to suit his requirement after 1 and a half year.
Sheila (@st91)
11th June 2013, 18:32
The only thing that surprises me is that he only extends his contract one year. Maybe he plans to move after that or he wants to wait and see how RBR cope with the new regulations.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
11th June 2013, 20:30
@st91 Maybe he or the team had an option for one extra year in the current contract and this option was called upon.
Sheila (@st91)
11th June 2013, 21:04
That makes sense, like if the team reamined competitive enough this year the contract could be extended automatically or something like that.
Patrick (@paeschli)
12th June 2013, 12:08
There’s a seat coming free at Mercedes in 2015 and another coming free at Ferrari in 2016. He will move to the best team after 2015
JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
11th June 2013, 18:34
Very interesting. You’d think if he were that committed to the team he’d extend the contract more than just one season…
I personally don’t think there’s much to the Vettel to Ferrari rumours, however. My money’s on a switch to Mercedes. A direct seat swap with Hamilton, to be specific.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2013, 19:37
I really doubt Mercedes would trade Hamilton for Vettel… at least not without Vettel proving that he can win a championship in a car that isn’t significantly better than its rivals
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2013, 19:40
@todfod – Hamilton of all people, hasn’t done that.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2013, 19:51
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Mercedes did want Vettel, but he was still under contract with RBR.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2013, 20:02
@david-a
Hamilton did it in 2008
matt90 (@matt90)
11th June 2013, 20:21
Was the 2008 McLaren significantly better than the Ferrari then?
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2013, 20:29
Nope it wasn’t better than the ferrari. Which is exactly what i was trying to say
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
12th June 2013, 0:35
@matt90 @todfod I’m not sure you can call the RB8 significantly better than the E20 or MP4-27 either
matt90 (@matt90)
12th June 2013, 0:50
I think overall it was significantly better than the E20. Other than reliability, the Mclaren was clearly the best car over the season though.
Enigma (@enigma)
11th June 2013, 20:10
@Todfod
He did just that in 2012 and to some extent in 2011.
Todfod (@todfod)
11th June 2013, 20:27
@enigma
I find it hard to take your comment seriously when you mentioned the 2011 season.
I find it hard to believe that any follower of f1 could argue against the fact that vettel has had the best machinery over the past 3.5 seasons
MDS
11th June 2013, 20:35
Well he doesn’t have a significant better car this season, yet he’s still leading the standings.
As for the other years I would agree he had the best car (though in 2012 not the fastest car).
Enigma (@enigma)
11th June 2013, 20:54
@Todfod I did say to some extent. On many occasions other had the pace to beat him but didn’t manage to (Monaco & Barcelona the prime examples). Hamilton was often close to Vettel in terms of speed but had a terrible season. Vettel had the best car in 2011 no doubt, but it’s the consistency and efficiency that won him the title and his car wasn’t miles better.
As for 2012, McLaren had the fastest car. So it’s clear Vettel has already won a championship in a car that wasn’t significantly better than its rivals.
David-A (@david-a)
11th June 2013, 23:14
@matt90 @todfod – Ok, maybe I was being a bit harsh on Hamilton there, but only as a counter to the idea that RBR were significantly better in 2012. Having the best car in a season does not automatically mean it was “significantly” better.
M Dickens (@sgt-pepper)
12th June 2013, 13:39
(@enigma)
I’m sorry, 2011?
Enigma (@enigma)
12th June 2013, 14:07
@sgt-pepper I’ve already explained, I don’t think his car really was significantly better than its rivals in 2011. It was the best, no doubt, but it wasn’t seconds a lap faster. Either way, even if you don’t count 2011, Vettel proved it last year.
M Dickens (@sgt-pepper)
12th June 2013, 15:12
(@enigma)
No because we’re no longer in the early 90s, but it was the modern equivalent of the degree of superiority, it’s just that the margins have narrowed.
2012 proves the opposite, as he was floundering in the championship behind Alonso despite how dire the 2012 Ferrari was, until the Asia update. And then he went on to claw back the championship – but only once he once again had easily the fastest car.
And yes, I know the 2012 Mclaren was basically the fastest car last year, but it didn’t work half the time, and the other half of the time the crew messed it up somehow.
Enigma (@enigma)
12th June 2013, 15:36
@sgt-pepper Yeah, overall Red Bull was the best car even if not the fastest, but still, you can’t say Red Bull had a significant advantage in 2012. As for 2011, his car was much less dominant than in 2010. It was not the fastest in certain parts of the year (around Barcelona and Monaco, as well as towards the end, especially Suzuka). I’m not arguing he had the best car, but I don’t really think it was significantly better.
Sheila (@st91)
11th June 2013, 20:26
I think Mercedes would love to have Vettel, don’t have they always wanted a German champion?
Kingshark (@kingshark)
12th June 2013, 1:16
@raymondu999, @matt90 and @david-a
I agree with @todfod, Ferrari had the best car in 2008. The drivers blew it, that’s a fact.
David-A (@david-a)
12th June 2013, 1:20
@kingshark – It still doesn’t follow that Vettel hasn’t ever won without a significant advantage over the rest of the field, though.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
12th June 2013, 1:30
@kingshark why am I tagged in a comment about 2008? Lol
Kingshark (@kingshark)
12th June 2013, 1:38
@raymondu999
My mistake! Although my initial comment planned was suppose to respond to this:
Hmm… I’m not too sure about that. McLaren were slightly faster than Red Bull throughout 2012, but they were struck by horrendous team incompetence and bad reliability. Lotus had a great car in the first half, but fell back in the development race like a stone in the second half of the year. Ferrari began the year with a dog of a car, got it fixed come to Spain, but then went backwards in development again in the 2nd half of the year.
Red Bull had solid reliability, great speed all around, and no development issues. Overall, the RB8 was definitely the car to have in 2012.
@david-a
I agree that Vettel has won a championship without a significant car advantage over the rest of the field, but he’s never done it with a car disadvantage against the best car, which is something only Hamilton did in 2008. In all fairness, not even Alonso has done this, his Renault’s were generally the best or equal best on the grid.
Jon Sandor (@jonsan)
12th June 2013, 2:47
Kingshark, I don’t agree that Hamilton had a car disadvantage in 2008. He had a very poor teammate in HK, which is why they failed to take the WDC as well.
If you don’t count the three DNF’s to alternator failure, sure, rock-solid reliability.
Yappy
12th June 2013, 4:58
Considering none of the current drivers have won championships in more than one team it is a bit of sour grapes to continually harp on about Vettel needing to prove himself. Vettel broke records before he got to Red Bull and he is on track to break more. He is currently the most successful driver in F1 and does drive for a top team. As in all top level sports success is rewarded. Therefore a good driver goes to a top team. If anyone needs to prove what they can do in another team it would have to be the likes of Massa and Webber who do not seem to be having much success where they are. That said even fan favourite Alonso has not won a championship in a team other than Renault. And he is driving a Ferrari.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 8:47
I agree with you to the extent that Vettel has proven himself at Red Bull. But that’s also my point: what else is there to prove by staying there? I think there’s nothing left to prove at Milton Keynes. It’s time to move on to a new challenge.
Yappy
12th June 2013, 9:09
He is winning. What other reason is there to stay? If he wants a new challenge then he would go rallying. How is going from one team to another considered a new challenge?
OmarR-Pepper (@)
11th June 2013, 18:36
I’m predicting him to be 5 (or even 6) times champion until this contract ends. Probably renewed again. Why would he leave if the team is so good? Hamilton left McLaren because he was just fed up of the “usual” poor reliability at the beginning of the seasons, so he has the possibility to make a team being built around him (if he can finally beat Rosberg ona regular basis), and Fernando left Renault going to McLaren because it was a big team (and probably he knew Renault was not going to be the same the following year). Fernando couldn’t have imagined how good a rookie could be to match him being the reigning champion. When Schum found the magic formula, he ddn’t go to another team to prove himself (the Mercedes deal was when he had already lost momentum after 2 sabatical years). Vettel has found (or much better, being found by) this “magic formula” and will leave just if the good times fade. It would be good to see him jumping into another team, for sure it would be, but there’s no reason to do it now.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
11th June 2013, 19:01
That’s depending on how the Red Bulls will be competitive in the new Turbo era , a 4 time world champion is a reasonable prediction, remember Vettel developed his driving style around the Red Bull’s massive rear downforce which will disappear with the new regulations (theoretically unless Adrian Newey found a new idea like the blown diffuser to bring back the same level of downforce which is very difficult ) , we will see cars slower by 4/5 s from the current one & more dependent on the mechanical side
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
11th June 2013, 20:50
Everyone has developed their style to the current regulations. You’d be an idiot not to. Considering he’s impressed in a range of situations (crappy STR2, midfield STR3, grooved tires, bridgestone slicks, pirelli slicks), I see no reason to expect him to have any problem impressing again.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
12th June 2013, 0:39
@tifoso1989 Considering that he developed his style around the blown diffuser – I’d be surprised if he couldn’t do it again.
Being able to adapt one’s style isn’t exactly the most natural thing to do – just try crossing your arms the wrong way around to see what I mean – and if he was able to do it as successfully as you say he was, he would be able to develop his style around the turbos as well
TMF (@)
11th June 2013, 19:38
Seems logical – only chance for another top team was Ferrari but they made it quite clear that it’s not gonna happen. He turns 26 this year so his best years are still ahead of him and I’m quite sure one day he’ll join a different team.
Robbie (@robbie)
11th June 2013, 20:21
No surprise here. As long as Red Bull still wanted SV, and why wouldn’t they, SV would want to stay at RBR…there’s no where else he could go right now and get the treatment and equipment he is getting. A no-brainer really.
HiPn0tIc (@hipn0tic)
11th June 2013, 20:58
Great news. It’s a winning combination and no need for change. Redbull is happy with Seb, and Seb is happy with RedBull.
Now the real question is who’s going to be the other driver…
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
11th June 2013, 21:56
They’re a pretty formidable pairing so I’m not really surprised there has been a contract extension. However, I do find it curious it’s only a one year extension: perhaps he’s giving himself a bail-out token for 2016 if the car turns out to be uncompetitive and a space becomes vacant elsewhere?
puneeth Bharath (@puneethvb)
12th June 2013, 6:21
I guess he wants to give it two years in the new turbo era and bail out or extend depending on how competitive RB are… and may be if Fernando does nt win a WDC by 2015, Vettel might get the opportunity to replace him at Ferrari.. I hope Alonso wins a championship or two more by that time :)
Calum (@calum)
11th June 2013, 22:58
Aren’t RedBull’s Renault engines only contracted until 2016, and now their number 1 driver has been contracted until the same year. It’s quite unlikely, but could this be the first sign of them getting ready to wrap things up in F1? They have won everything, they have dominated and have made RedBull a daunting name in Formula 1, there isn’t much else for them to do here so I could see their reasoning. I believe it is just a little coincidence though.
Michael Brown (@)
12th June 2013, 0:02
Why is it that people want Vettel to go to a weaker team and win championships with them? I can’t remember in F1 history where a worse car won the championship, and I don’t care for that type of statistic. Alonso left Renault for McLaren because McLaren was a bigger and better team. Senna left McLaren for Williams because of the form Williams showed in previous years.
Irene (@airinsv)
12th June 2013, 4:59
+1
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 8:53
@lite992 Off the top of my head: Surtees in 1964, Rosberg in 1982, Prost in 1986, Schumacher in 1995.
But in any case, I repeat my main point: Vettel has nothing left to prove by staying. He’s won everything here thrice over. What’s left to do?
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
12th June 2013, 9:48
Ferrari #1 Driver Seat wasn’t Available at the Moment when it was available Vettel duly takes that and Moves to Ferrari. So until then he will be the RBR Boy
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
12th June 2013, 13:22
@journeyer Winning eight times? Or six times consecutively?
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 14:48
@mike-dee Winning more titles there won’t really change anyone’s belief in Vettel. It won’t change what people think of him, because people know he can win titles there ad infinitum. But if he did it somewhere else (Ferrari or Mercedes most likely), then it can convince people to have a change of belief in him.
mnmracer (@mnmracer)
12th June 2013, 15:56
Like people were convinced by Fangio winning 5 titles by hopping from the fastest car to the fastest car?
dkpioe
13th June 2013, 17:50
schumacher only won titles in ferrari when the car became the fastest car. vettel doesnt need to move just to convince Haters. haters will be haters anyway.
filippo (@filippo-vettel)
12th June 2013, 8:20
the contract of Alonso with Ferrari is until 31th dec 2015 no more!!! no 2016 at the moment!!!
Journeyer (@journeyer)
12th June 2013, 8:58
@filippo-vettel Nope. Alonso’s contract is to the end of 2016.
filippo (@filippo-vettel)
12th June 2013, 9:00
you’re wrong sorry
filippo (@filippo-vettel)
12th June 2013, 9:03
first one 2010-11-12 then in 2011 other 3 years extended…2013-14-15
electrolite (@electrolite)
12th June 2013, 17:09
@filippo-vettel
https://www.racefans.net/2011/05/19/alonso-signs-ferrari-contract-2016/
filippo (@filippo-vettel)
12th June 2013, 8:21
so Vettel is ready for Ferrari 2016…
dkpioe
12th June 2013, 14:58
Sebastian Vettel is the best driver in the past 5 years in F1, no matter what car he had, which is an argument that wasnt being thrown up in his early years, i think it is just sour grapes from fans that their favourite driver hasnt achieved what vettel has (vettel is not my favourite driver, i like alonso more).
well done to him for staying at redbulll for another 2 years – the best driver in the best car is making a legend that could break all the records. i remember when hamilton came into f1, it looked like he could be the next great, but he has had far too many errors, and lost championships, while Vettel has been sublime 99% of times (except for the team orders controversy – but i will give that to him, as he is young and naive).
Poul Winther (@poul)
12th June 2013, 21:01
Wouldn’t be surprised if they (Vettel / Red Bull) kill Formula 1!
nickpkr21
14th June 2013, 16:58
Funny thing is SV is cheap for redbull !