German Vettel re-writing Formula One history
German Sebastian Vettel has emerged as one of the greatest Formula One racing driver of the modern era and is on the verge of setting another world record by becoming the youngest back-to-back F1 champion having secured the title in controversial circumstances last year when Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who leading the title race and needed to finish in the top five position to celebrate his third F1 crown, finished seventh.

Ferrari’s engineer shocked everyone when he called in Alonso for an early pit stop which placed him among the middle section among the drivers and he struggled to extricate himself and car to finish in the top six.
It was a shocking decision which left the two-time world champion speechless, disheartened and overwhelmed with disappointment at having been robbed of glory after he had driven with such pomp and savvy in the second half of a chequered season.

But while Alonso’s disappointment were felt by his legions of Ferrari fans, Vettel raced into the history books as the youngest F1 champion and eclipsed the record previously held by Lewis Hamilton who had taken the honour from Alonso when he won the 2008 driver’s championship crown in a thrilling finish to the season.

Vettel’s ascendancy to the topmost position has been closely monitored by racing aficionados who have their own favourites but whose aspirations cannot match the speed of the aerodynamically-prepared Red Bull racing machine that has proven faster and better than the established brands that have dominated the circuits over the years.

The 2011 season’s title decider is scheduled for the Japanese Grand Prix today. And I have every reason to believe that at the Suzuka circuit, Vettel will celebrate his second consecutive world champion racing title and put him into the pantheon of the F1 greats as the youngest back-to-back champion.

He would have taken the record set by the greatest all-round driver Alonso who registered the championship winning feats in 2005 and 2006 when he defeated the greatest of them all, the indomitable German Michael Schumacher who subsequently retired from the track as a seven-time champion and legend with 91 Grand Prix victories and 154 podiums. He also had 68 pole positions during his illustrious career.

And at age 24, Vettel would have achieved what no other driver has ever accomplished and his exploits will definitely stand the test of time.
Vettel has proven his worth among four other celebrated world champions including Spaniard Alonso, Englishmen Hamilton and Jenson Button and the greatest of all and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher who returned to F1 racing for the 2010 season.

While Vettel has dominated both seasons (2010 and 2011), his famous German compatriot Schumacher has yet to astride the podium in any race since his return to the fast lanes of world supremacy.

Vettel and the other racers will put Japan back into international focus after the terrible and destructive tsunami and 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the Japanese Fukushima Nuclear Power plant and devastated the north-east of the country in March of this year.

Eight months ago, the world’s population watched in horror at the devastation experienced by the Japanese but today, they will witness the best of the world’s top racers battle for supremacy and for F1 history to be re-written by the prodigious German talent who will probably eclipse the exploits of his legendary countryman in the future.

While the meltdown at Fukushima brought home the uncertainty of safety and survival on the planet, the racing at Suzuka will usher in a new era of global domination by Vettel and Red Bull in back to back years.
It shows that the sporting arena will revive optimism of a good life and also of restoring normalcy to a shocked nation that is still grappling with the deadly devastation that claimed over 15,000 lives.

The Japanese will be keen to show that world that they have recovered from the trauma and are resilient enough to welcome the rest of the world to their shores. Symbolically, the strength and international stature of the powerful Japanese nation will be restored with smiling faces and busy bodies all around.

For the legacy records, Schumacher and Ferrari won consecutive world titles between 2000 and 2004 until Alonso beat him in 2005 with the Renault machine. And for the 2002 season, the German did not finish off the podium in any of the 17 races (with only one third position) while the season was wrapped up with six races still to be completed. He won eleven Grand Prixs during 2002 and bettered the previous record holder Nigel Mansell whose record of nine wins was established in 1992.

Schumacher improved his seasonal victories to 13 the following year. The big question is whether Vettel can match or even surpass those astronomical figures achieved with far superior machine than his rivals can dream of, much less be fortunate to be sitting in one to compete fairly with the legend.

With the superior aerodynamically-built Red Bull Racing machine and his great versatility displayed throughout the season, Vettel must be feeling confident that he can match those phenomenal achievements and set others that will catapult him into the realms of legendary status as his legacy grows bigger and bigger with each race victory.

Vettel enjoys the same pre-eminence at Red Bull as Schumacher had at Ferrari. They are the number one and they enjoy the advantages over their teammates and rivals alike. The F1 world and climate operates in that fashion and there is no indication that it will ever change in the future.

Red Bull can also celebrate a unique double today. While Vettel is set to retain the F1 crown, Red Bull can also secure the F1 Constructors title should they amass 172 points ahead of second place McLaren which is currently 134 points behind.

Vettel’s Red Bull teammate Mark Webber was second to him at Suzuka last year but will have to do some extraordinary driving to beat McClaren’s duo Button and Hamilton as well as Ferrari’s Alonso and Massa in the showdown event in Japan.

Webber relishes racing in Japan and denied Vettel a unique hat-trick by claiming the fastest lap time in the final lap of the 2010 race.

However, the 24-year-old Vettel has improved so much more from last year and has been racing in a league of his own. The convincing manner shows that he is almost an untouchable with the Red Bull car which is slicker and faster through all sectors as was witnessed at Monza, the alter of motor-racing speed, earlier this year.

It was at Monza that a 21-year-old Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix winner ever in 2008. He raced for Torro Rosso which is still being sponsored by Red Bull.
And the records would show that the Torro Rosso brand has not improved from that historic race with the victory, podium finish and only pole position since Vettel’s brilliant race that opened up the eyes and minds of those closely involved in F1 racing.

His meteoric rise to the top has been a fascinating and profound story which brings into focus the wizardry of Red Bull’s world renowned engineer Adrian Newey who has built the super-fast machine that has been able to prove their class on all different tracks.

While McClaren has the most improved package at this stage of the year, Red Bull cars have prevailed under all conditions.

McLaren has improved their high-speed maneuverability around the high-speed corners which puts Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button into advantageous positions to attack with ferociousness and top speeds.
And their straight-line speeds are on par with Red Bull while their rear-wing designs seems superior to the others in the second half of the season.

Evidently, both Hamilton and Button, with their McLarens, are capable of matching the Red Bulls and that makes the final five races of the season really exciting prospects and not a foregone conclusion that Vettel and Red Bull will romp home in fine style race after race.

Ferrari engineers have struggled to catch up with Red Bull and McLaren and that has put the determined Alonso at a terrible disadvantage with a slower car compared to his erstwhile adversaries who are racing with better prepared cars.
Technology rules the track as much as it takes all the skills, bravery and mental fortitude of the drivers to outwit and outlast their opponents who are not pushovers but men of steely determination to battle to the very end once the engines and tyres are up for the rigours on a prolonged battle for supremacy.

Alonso’s ambition and dexterity behind a racing machine can match anything that we have seen over the years but the Ferrari car is not in the same league as the Red Bulls and McLarens. Therein lies his struggle to match and surpass his rivals who are better equipped and equally adept at capitalising of situations as they present themselves in the heat of battle.

Vettel has won twice at Suzuka in 2009 and 2010 and based on his overall superiority over his famous adversaries, the 24-year-old will definitely race into the record books today for a hat-trick of victories and a special place of pride in F1 history.

Only a victory by McClaren’s Jenson Button or some other unforeseen circumstance or engine failure will prevent him from being crowned the world’s youngest back-to-back F1 racing champion.

Today’s pole position is his fifth consecutive and twelfth overall. Vettel is just one behind Brazilian great Ayrton Senna and Frenchman Alain Prost and two behind season’s overall record holder Nigel Mansell.

The German also provided Red Bull with their sixteenth consecutive pole position which is one behind McClaren’s 17 and eight behind Williams’ 24.

My own feeling is that Vettel will celebrate a famous victory and cement his place in F1 history as the most prodigious talent to prove his class among some of the greatest drivers of all time. He will become another legend with many records to his name.