After crossing the finish line during the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel yelled into his car radio, “Yes! Yes!”
Then, disobeying his engineer’s request to return to your pits, he drove for the middle of the track right in front of a grandstand containing huge number of cheering Indian fans, and spun his car in series of smoking donuts. He climbed out, walked to your front of the car, got down on his hands and knees and did several bows of appreciation.
Vettel had not just driven another perfect race in his Red Bull to win the Indian Grand Prix and take his sixth victory in a row this season and his third victory in a row in India. Most important, he had just won his fourth world drivers’ title in a row.
He might have been left speechless, but his team director, Christian Horner, had place it into words throughout the radio moments before: “You’ve done it in style, Sebastian. You may be a four-time world champion. You have got joined the greats.”
The German driver, 26, had just become just the fourth driver in Formula One history to win four drivers’ titles, after Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher. None of his predecessors has done it so young, with Prost having not yet even won his first Grand Prix by the same age. It was the 36th victory of Vettel’s career.
His teammate, Mark Webber, dropped from the race with an alternator problem on Lap 40, however the 25 points that Vettel earned for the victory, were enough to hand their Red Bull team its fourth constructors’ title in a row as well.
Vettel finished an astonishing 29.8 seconds in front of Nico Rosberg in second in a Mercedes. Romain Grosjean finished third in a Lotus, 10 seconds farther back.
In a long press conference following the race, Vettel, who had been also the youngest world champion, double world champion and triple world champion, looked emotionally overwhelmed, and said repeatedly that he had no idea how to put the series of titles and achievements into perspective.
“So I am overwhelmed, I don’t know things to say,” he said. “I think it is among the best times of my life thus far. When I became small, Formula One was always thus far away, and also to race against these drivers was thus far away.
“I could be 60 some day and then understand,” he added. “It is hard to realize something which nobody can take away from you.”
Prior to the race, there was in fact just one other driver capable of preventing Vettel from taking the title: Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari. But for that to happen, Alonso had to finish first or second; if Vettel, however, finished within the top five, he would take the title.
In a desperate bid to overcome his slower car’s faults, Alonso’s Ferrari team decided to test a different sort of tire strategy to that of Vettel. The German had started in the softer, faster, but more easily wearing tires, while Alonso’s Ferrari was loaded with the harder, slightly slower but longer lasting medium tires.
The idea was that Alonso, who qualified only eighth, would stay out longer and make up positions, while Vettel did his pit stop earlier into the race. But Alonso’s chances were all but gone when regarding the first lap he made connection with Webber’s car and damaged his front wing, and steering, and had to help make a pit stop after one lap.
He never regained position, finishing the race in 11th place and failing to score points just for the second time this season. With three races left, Vettel has a 115-point lead on Alonso, and only a maximum of 75 points remain to be earned.
“I became a bit unlucky because I think Mark was also having connection with someone and also the third part of that equation was me,” Alonso said of Webber, adding that he had lost time in a battle aided by the McLaren of Jenson Button as well. “The race was uphill from that moment.”
Webber had tried the same tire strategy as Alonso, and after starting fourth in the grid, and then dropping to seventh regarding the first lap, he led the race from Lap 9 to Lap 28.
Vettel made a pit stop after just one lap and dropped right down to 16th position, and it looked like his race could be compromised as well. But he scythed his way up the pack and was at second position by Lap 21. When Webber made his first pit stop after Lap 28, Vettel took the lead again, while Alonso was still only in 12th position.
Vettel then made another pit stop after Lap 31, and returned in second position. Webber then made another pit stop, handing the lead back into Vettel, and then dropping from the race after Lap 40.
Although Vettel was indeed booed at several races this present year some fans, praise came in from the other Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, who finished the race in fourth position.
“Today, he signed his name as among the best Formula One drivers in history together with Senna, together with Schumacher, together along with other drivers who are all of the time during the top,” said Massa.
Martin Whitmarsh, the director of the McLaren Mercedes team also praised the competing driver.
“He once again drove faultlessly to put the title beyond the reach of his closest rival,” Whitmarsh said. “To win four world titles — particularly four in a row — is incredibly impressive stuff.”
Having put his fourth title behind him, and now winning six victories in a row this season, Vettel is aiming to equal the record of Alberto Ascari of nine consecutive victories, set between the two seasons of 1952 and 1953. Schumacher is second within the record books with seven consecutive victories, in 2004.
When asked about all of his achievements, Vettel again looked overwhelmed: “If you attempt to write a story like that, you can’t; you can’t be creative enough.”
Peace offering Basking into the euphoria of his fourth straight Formula One world championship title, Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull moved toward making peace with fans off their teams who have booed his victories at several races, The Associated Press reported from Greater Noida, India.
Vettel, who claimed his fourth title after winning the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday, happens to be greeted by booing during his podium appearances in Italy, Singapore along with other races by fans who appear not to ever appreciate the clinical manner in which he wins them.
“It hurts not to ever get the reception you expect, but I’m clever enough to understand why they are doing it,” Vettel said. “I’m not blaming them.”
The German remains more focused on getting the respect of his F1 rivals.
“I think one particular important thing for me is to acquire the respect of the people I know and race against, and I also feel respected among the drivers,” he said. “You need to fight to get that respect when you come into F1.”
In the podium Sunday, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean hoisted Vettel on their shoulders.
As for the less appreciative crowds, Vettel says he understands their emotions. “I don’t blame the people that booed. If I go to a football stadium I cheer for the home team,” he said.
“Maybe if I became a fan of McLaren, Ferrari, among the traditional teams, I wouldn’t like it if the same guy and also the same team wins again and again.”
Costly gesture Vettel’s post-victory celebrations on Sunday led to a reprimand by Formula One’s governing body together with a fine, Reuters reported from Greater Noida.
He had been summoned by the stewards for ignoring post-race procedures and performing crowd-pleasing “doughnuts” because of the car spinning in a circle of tire smoke during the end of the pit straight.
Vettel then climbed out, bowed down right in front of the car and clambered up a wire fence to throw his driving gloves to spectators.
The stewards noted in a statement that he had failed “to proceed directly from the circuit to post-race parc fermé without unnecessary delay” in a breach of the sporting regulations. “Parc fermé” refers to a secure area.
“Due to special circumstance the stewards accepted the explanation of the driver,” the statement added.
Red Bull, that also celebrated its fourth successive constructors’ title, was fined €25,000, or $34,500.