It would be easy to assert that Sebastian Vettel was a winner because he had the best car, but this charge, as it so often is, is an over-simplification. Like so many championship winners, Vettel proved himself, over and over again, and showed a hunger for success that eclipsed that of most of his peers.

Things could have been very different for Vettel. He has publicly said that he idolised three Michaels whilst growing up: Michael Schumacher, Michael Jordan, and Michael Jackson. His ambition was to emulate Michael Jackson, but by his own admission, he lacked the voice! Instead, Vettel followed fellow German Schumacher into motorsport, and in fact was dubbed ‘Baby Schumi’ by the German media, after his first, rather epic win in Italy in 2008.

Vettel’s bath to Formula 1 saw him do well in the feeder series’. In 2004 Vettel won 18 out of 20 races in the Formula BMW ADAC Championship. This earned him a test drive with the Williams F1 team in 2005, and in 2006 he became their regular test driver, though he would switch to testing for BMW Sauber later in the year. All of this was going on whilst Vettel was part of Red Bull’s junior development programme, which was a result of his tenure in karting. In 2007, Vettel would make his full F1 debut, for BMW Sauber, at the USA Grand Prix, replacing the injured Robert Kubica.

From the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards, Vettel would race for Toro Rosso, the ‘B’ team of Red Bull Racing. He would continue to race for them through 2007, and into 2008, where he would go on to briefly become the youngest race winner in the sport’s history, with a masterful display at the rain-soaked Italian Grand Prix. His win, in a car that was far from the top of the field, showed maturity and race-craft in the wet conditions that got him noticed, and in 2009, he was promoted to the senior team, partnering Mark Webber.

Vettel would take four victories in 2009, and emerge as the closest challenger to eventual champion Jensen Button. This was to be a taste of what was to come.

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