05 – Sebastian Vettel

Credit: Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty Images

Stats

• Birthday: 3rd July 1987
• Nationality: German
• Lives:
• Website: sebastianvettel.de

Career

Sebastian’s career by year. The bracketed number is his final position at the end of the series.

• 2003 – German Formula BMW (2nd)
• 2004 – German Formula BMW (1st)
• 2005 – Spanish Formula 3 (15th), Formula 3 Euroseries (5th)
• 2006 – Formula 3 Euroseries (5th), World Series by Renault (15th)
• 2007 – World Series by Renault (5th), Formula 1 (14th)
• 2008 – Formula 1 (8th)
• 2009 – Formula 1 (2nd)
• 2010 – Formula 1

2010 Preview

From the F1 Digest 2010 Season Preview:

I’ve always been a bit of a Vettel fan, he’s usually quite smiley and happy to talk to the press, philosophical even when things are going against him. 2009 saw a bit of a change for Sebastian as he was suddenly dealing with a competitive car, and a championship that he could win, even if the odds were stacked against him. There were times when we saw the frustration, felt the anger when things went wrong, particularly if they couldn’t be helped. It’s good to know that Vettel has the fire to do well and stay competitive, but I do miss the cheerful chap from 2008.

Nevertheless, Vettel has every chance of being just as competitive this year. He’s got Adrian Newey behind him, and wound up the 2009 season with the fastest car on the grid. Luck isn’t always on his side, but it’s up to the others to catch up to him and not the other way round. The one thing that may go against Seb is the lack of refuelling. Overtaking is going to be key this year, and whilst already difficult, Vettel makes it look downright impossible. With fat cars running full race distances on one tank, this shake up of the rules could prove to be his downfall.