24 years and 98 days.
That’s how old Sebastian Vettel was on Sunday, when he finished third in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, becoming the youngest two time world champion in Formula One history.
So far Vettel’s achievements are simply staggering. Having entered 77 grands prix, Vettel has 19 wins and 33 podium finishes. At 18 years old, Vettel was the youngest driver to score a F1 point. In 2008 he became the youngest driver to start from pole and win.
Last year he became the youngest world champion in history, aged 23 years and 135 days, beating Lewis Hamilton’s record of 23 years and 301 days.
This year, with four races in the season remaining, Vettel holds an unassailable 114 point lead, having won nine of the fifteen races and led in 598 of a possible 892 laps.
The 24 year old has also driven to twelve of a possible fifteen pole positions and only failed to start from the front of the grid once.
The all-time record for pole positions in a year is held by Nigel Mansell, who claimed fourteen of a possible sixteen in 1992. Vettel would need to start from front spot in three of the last four races to break yet another record.
Vettel’s season has been the most dominant performance since Michael Schumacher’s 2004 campaign. Schumacher finished that year with thirteen race wins, which remains a record.
Not only is he immensely talented behind the wheel, he is humble, mature beyond his years and as the BBC’s Lee McKenzie says ‘a different kind of world champion’.
Having only raced four and a half seasons (he replaced Scott Speed at Toro Rosso from the Hungarian round of 2007), it is hard to compare Vettel to other drivers who have had distinguished and successful careers.
However, the Schumacher comparison is a hard to avoid. Both drivers are German, both debuted young (Schumacher aged 22), and both were filling in for another driver in their first race. Also, their first race wins came in their second season, their first full year of racing – 1992 for Michael, 2008 for Sebastian.
Furthermore, both Schumacher and Vettel won their first title in their third full season, only to win another the following season.
Only fifteen drivers have won two Formula One World Championships, including some of the all time greats like Senna, Fangio, Piquet, Clark and Prost. All of whom, in their day, were household names.
Where Vettel sits amongst the all time greats is difficult to judge in a sport with so many variables. No one has come as far as him at such an early point in their career, and with plenty of years still left to go the young German has time to further enhance his reputation.
While not in the same realm of Schumacher/Senna, at this point in his career Vettel is firmly inside the top 20 and will undoubtedly finish higher.
Perhaps, one day, we will refer to the next great racing talent as ‘the next Sebastian Vettel’.
Joel Peterson is a first-year student in the Bachelor of Journalism (Sport) at La Trobe University. Follow him on Twitter @joelbpeterson.
