What was the Vettel-factor in Red Bull’s success and the 2011 title?
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Paul Di Resta’s commented that he too would have done what Vettel did this year, if he had the same equipment. Without discussing the merit of the comments and who made them, the question does arise: How did Vettel contribute to the Red Bull Racing success?
In my view, Michael Schumacher had an important role in improving the Benetton 1991 until achieving the success in 94 and 95, and the same goes for the Ferrari from 96 on until his great seasons in 97, 99 and the 2000s. Either he was really lucky, or he was able to show, twice, that he could be a factor (to a certain extent) in developing a car and delivering the results.
Vettel might have been lucky at Toro Rosso, leading the team (to a certain extent agian) to beating RBR in 2008, moving to them in 2009 and making them a winning team since then.
In view of Webber’s performance this year, it seems to me that Vettel has been responsible, to a certain (maybe even small) extent for the success of the car itself, besides being able to deliver the results in it, under high pressure.
Am I seeing this too positively? What measures would you suggest to evaluate Vettel’s merit in both titles, mostly in 2011, since it is that one Di Resta is talking about. And would most any driver win the title in Vettel style, with this dominance?The answer is in the title and there is a system of measuring the drivers individual merit called the Drivers Championship. I think it pretty much says it all.
Even as late as the Brazil GP Vettel was using Webber’s set up from Friday, something that happened throughout the year, so yes driver’s do contribute but let’s not assume it was all one way.
Pretty sure VET ran a very different setup(gearing and engine) to WEB in Monza. Also, after German GP this year VET reverted to the prior race’s setup not taking the upgrades from Germany. At this point there is no way VET and WEB are having the same setup. So I’m not sure where this sharing WEB setup comes from
@GameR_K It dates back to 2009. While both drivers have substantially different driving styles; they seem to have similar DEMANDS from a car; so their setups should be similar. Since 2009; when Webber hasn’t found a balance on Friday; he takes a step towards Seb’s setup direction; and vice versa.
Look at Friday times compared to Saturday and you’ll see Webber often had better set up to Vettel, which was always shared within the team, as mentioned in post practice/race interviews.
Friday times don’t mean anything, both drivers would have been on different programs and Redbull rarely showed their hand on a Friday in 2011, only on Saturday did they start running on Lower fuel programs more akin to what the other teams were doing.
I believe what Vettel did this year was something special. Something that not many drivers ever will be able to achieve in their F1 career. Maybe only the likes of Schumacher before his comeback and Alonso in 2011 form. Definitly not diResta. Not right now, maybe in the future.
What made Seb’s season so special is that he not only won “his” races, but also the one’s that he wasn’t supposed to win. Spa, Monza, Spain, Monaco.. he got the maximum amount of points from them all. This in a good car, but not an overly dominant one. In serveral races, the Mclaren showed really good pace, but Button and Hamilton just weren’t able to convert that into wins. Offcourse, this is not only down to Vettel, but also the team making decent pitwall decisions and quick pitstops. Package deal really.
Apologies if this post is in the wrong place, I’m new here! Just wanted to share a story about Sebastian Vettel from the Milton Keynes Red Bull Home Run event last week. I had been trying to get an interview (for MKFM, the local radio station) for 15 mins and followed him around while he was signing photos for fans. One lady asked him for a kiss and he said, “No, I don’t even know your name” to which she replied, “It’s Rose, now can I have a kiss?”. Seb laughed and kissed her. At this point I decided I had to get his attention so said, “Sebastian, my name’s Gareth, can I have a kiss?” We had some banter and then I started recording and the rest is in the video! If you want to hear a bit of Seb’s personality and sense of humour, take a watch! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqbgZQ3IhT4
At first, I was going to say that Vettel’s remark was ridiculously unfunny, but then I remembered the context and how you’d asked him for a kiss. He’s actually pretty quick witted! I just wish we’d get to see more of this side of the man rather than his boring post-race speeches! :P
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