Sebastian Vettel has been setting Formula One records since his first weekend in the paddock. When he left the garage at Istanbul Park in practice for the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix he became the youngest man to take part in a grand prix weekend.
5.7 seconds later he became the youngest man to be fined by the FIA during a grand prix. Speeding in the pitlane was the offence and he was fined $3,500, “which is a lot of money when you haven’t got any, so that hurt!” Five years on and he’s still setting records, many of them still for being the ‘youngest whatever’, but increasingly for being simply the best.
In 2011 he’s had a fabulous car, the experience and confidence of being world champion, and a team-mate who’s struggled with the new Pirelli tyres. Seb has taken full advantage: here’s some of the records he’s set during 2011.
Youngest ever double World Champion: 24 years, 98 days.
Fernando Alonso was 25 years and 85 days old at Interlagos where he wrestled that particular honour away from Emerson Fittipaldi but only managed to hang on to it for five short years before relinquishing this non-title to Sebastian at the Japanese Grand Prix this year. “I think now we will see who is the youngest three time World Champion,” said Fernando with the sort of smile usually accompanied by the twirling of a moustache and the tying of a girl to a train track. Here’s Fernando back when he wore turquoise rather than red…
Most laps led in a season: 711*
Nigel Mansell’s record of 692 laps led was set during 1992 season – but “Our Nige” still commands a legion of devoted fans, so out of respect to the Brotherhood of Mansell-worshippers, we should point out that Nigel set the record in a 16-race season and Sebastian broke it on lap 42 of the 17th race of 2011, the Indian Grand Prix. Like Vettel, Mansell enjoyed a dominant Adrian Newey-designed car, a couple of good scraps with McLaren and a season that looked like it was over before it started. Here’s Nigel demonstrating how to lead a race without breaking sweat.
Youngest driver to record a grand chelem: 24 years, 119 days.
Yep, we didn’t know what a grand chelem was either – but our English-French dictionary says it’s the more or less the same as a grand slam: pole position, fastest lap, victory and leading every lap – a feat which Seb completed in India last week. He’s the 22nd driver to do it, and the man he knocked off that particular perch is Ayrton Senna, who managed it at his maiden F1 win at a very wet Portuguese Grand Prix of 1985. Here’s some vintage Senna…
Most championship points earned in a season: 374*
OK, this one isn’t exactly fair as you now 25 points for a win – so the top 10 in this category all come from the last two years. However, Vettel’s total of 374 from a possible 425 represents 88 per cent of the maximum possible from the season to date, which is better than anyone’s ever managed before. That puts Seb’s in a good spot to beat Michael Schumacher’s 144 from 170 (84.7 per cent) scored in 2002. Of course, back when the championship was decided on X number of best results from certain periods of the season, both Alberto Ascari (1952) and Jim Clark (1963 and 1965) came out of the year with a maximum. And that, of course, is really just an excuse to put in some Jim Clark footage…
Most starts from the front row: 16*
At the moment Seb is tied on 16 with Ayrton Senna (1989), Alain Prost (1993) and Damon Hill (1996). Admittedly for the other three 16 front row starts meant starting every race from the front. Seb blotted his copybook there with P4 in – obviously – Germany – but with two more goes, he has every chance of taking the outright record, which just goes to show that you really shouldn’t trust a statistic further than you can throw it. Here’s Senna showing how it’s done in Monaco.
Fastest man in a Suzuki Liana
And finally, not content with F1 hegemony, Seb also found time to set a lap record on Top Gear’s Test Track, beating Rubens Barrichello’s record. Never has a Suzuki Liana been thrown around an airfield with quite so much speed – in fact the only way to make it go any faster would be to drop it from a plane. Check out Seb’s newly acquired comedy German accent too…
* And counting
Want More?
- Red Bull Racing's track record at Abu Dhabi - Video
- Keep up with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Redbull.com
- Senna: The Movie
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