2011 end of term report – Sebastian Vettel

It is not often that a driver dominates a Formula One World Championship making virtually no mistake. This is exactly what we witnessed this season as Sebastian Vettel sailed to his second consecutive world title.

Season review

At the start of the season, Sebastian Vettel picked up where he left off at the last round of the 2010 season. The reigning World Champion was high on confidence and could count on a competitive car. In addition to that, he perfectly adapted to the new Pirelli tyres.

He set the trend in Australia with a dominant showing. He comfortably took pole position and won the race with a huge advantage over his rivals… without the help of KERS. He confirmed in Malaysia with another pole and win. However, the gap was much closer as McLaren picked up the pace.

He once again qualified on pole in China but couldn’t keep Lewis Hamilton at bay in the closing part of the race. Both men were running different strategies and Vettel struggled towards the end with worn tyres. In Turkey, the German driver added another pole to his tally and took a third victory. After such an excellent start, he already had a 34 point lead in the World Championship.

Beaten to pole by his teammate Webber in Spain, Vettel took the lead after his first pit stop and withstood Hamilton’s pressure to win the race. He also had to drive defensively in the streets of Monaco to take another win. He nursed extremely worn tyres to the end of the race whilst fending off the assaults of Alonso and Button. His strategic gamble was helped by the interruption of the race. He was able to change tyres and sprinted towards the victory at the restart.

In Canada, he looked on course to take another win but made a rare mistake in the final lap. Worried by Jenson Button’s impressive pace, he pushed a bit too hard on a wet track and ran wide. It was enough for the McLaren driver to take the lead and win. The European Grand Prix was smoother for the Red Bull driver who scored a hat-trick – pole, win and fastest lap.

The controversy over the blown diffusers and the subsequent restriction of exhaust blowing in Great-Britain affected the Red Bull and Vettel had to concede defeat at Silverstone. The German had his worst weekend of the year on his home soil and finished fourth. He was second in Hungary.

He came back stronger after the summer break and won the next three Grand Prix. He couldn’t win in Japan but a third place was enough to seal him his second World Title. He celebrated it in style in Korea with a dominant win. He then went on to win the inaugural Indian Grand Prix.

He suffered an odd retirement at Abu Dhabi. Qualified on pole position, he had a good start and was pulling away at the front when he picked up a puncture and was sent into a spin. He rejoined in last position and crawled back in the pits with suspension damages. The circumstances of his puncture are still unknown, despite thorough investigation from Pirelli and Red Bull. Undeterred by his retirement, he watched the race from the pitwall.

At the last round of the season, he took a record 15th pole of the season and beat Nigel Mansell’s former record. He had a gearbox problem during the race and had to relinquish the lead to his teammate Webber. He managed to nurse his car to the finish and crossed the line in 2nd place.

Conclusion

The youngest ever World Champion became in 2011 the youngest ever double World Champion.
He had an extremely successful season and showed how much he had improved and matured between 2010 and 2011.

He took 11 wins, 15 pole positions and was on the podium of 17 out of 19 races. The title was his with four races to spare but he didn’t relax and kept pushing until the final lap of the season.

Highs
—  11 wins
—  15 pole positions
—  17 podiums

Lows
—  Mistake in the final lap in Canada
—  Disappointing German Grand Prix

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
— Oliver Ferret : 19/20
— D.Thys : 19/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 19/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 19/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 19/20
—  Total : 95/100