Congratulation Sebastian Vettel - 2011 FIA F1 Champion

[CHT]

MnMRacer has a point when comparing Button's 2009 performance with Vettel this year. Barrichello seemed better than Button in the second half of that year, winning two races during that period.

I think Vettel's 2010 season was a little more on par with Jenson's 2009. The difference is that Button did everything he needed to in the beginning, while Vettel did everything he needed to in the last half of the season to win.

The key similarity to me is that both drivers ended up in a position where they _had_ to produce to win the title. Seb did it in the last race, Jenson did it the race before.

What makes a champion comes down to a moment of make or break, and both drivers did this.

what about comparing Vettel performance to his team mate for the same period?
Red Bull was the fastest car throughout the season in 2010. Brawn was the fastest car for the first half of the season in 2009. I don't think the seasons are comparable. Jenson's win was more impressive.

If you want to compare Vettel's 2010 title win to any season, i would say it would have to be 1997. He won the title with the fastest car, but he made very hard work of it.

[raymondu999]

archie - the car; relative to the opposition; has less of a time delta than it has ever had last year. Last year's car was a lot more dominant in terms of out and out pace. In a lot of the races the McLaren was even faster; Spain, Hungary, even Suzuka. These were, to add salt to the wound, circuits where RBR were at their best last year - with qualifying deltas of anywhere from 4 tenths clear to 1.2 seconds clear.

Red Bull still had the same dominance at Barcelona - one of the ultimate aero tracks. However, the relative strengths of the car has changed since mid season. Mclaren and Ferrari seem closer on the aero tracks, but Red Bull seems stronger mechanically, and they've finally cracked low downforce circuits too.

In qualifying it did. But not in the race. Lewis was chasing him at 1.5s a lap in the last 2 stints (both in clean air; Seb's tyres were 1 lap older - not worth 1.5!)

[Gerhard Berger]

archie - the car; relative to the opposition; has less of a time delta than it has ever had last year. Last year's car was a lot more dominant in terms of out and out pace. In a lot of the races the McLaren was even faster; Spain, Hungary, even Suzuka. These were, to add salt to the wound, circuits where RBR were at their best last year - with qualifying deltas of anywhere from 4 tenths clear to 1.2 seconds clear.

Red Bull still had the same dominance at Barcelona - one of the ultimate aero tracks. However, the relative strengths of the car has changed since mid season. Mclaren and Ferrari seem closer on the aero tracks, but Red Bull seems stronger mechanically, and they've finally cracked low downforce circuits too.

In qualifying it did. But not in the race. Lewis was chasing him at 1.5s a lap in the last 2 stints (both in clean air; Seb's tyres were 1 lap older - not worth 1.5!)

In both stints? I thought it was just on the hards (which Mclaren looked very fast on). I'll check again though.

[raymondu999]

Yup. Last two stints in Barcelona were on the hards (3 option stints, 2 prime)

[mnmracer]

MnMRacer has a point when comparing Button's 2009 performance with Vettel this year. Barrichello seemed better than Button in the second half of that year, winning two races during that period.

I think Vettel's 2010 season was a little more on par with Jenson's 2009. The difference is that Button did everything he needed to in the beginning, while Vettel did everything he needed to in the last half of the season to win.

The key similarity to me is that both drivers ended up in a position where they _had_ to produce to win the title. Seb did it in the last race, Jenson did it the race before.

What makes a champion comes down to a moment of make or break, and both drivers did this.

Red Bull was the fastest car throughout the season in 2010. Brawn was the fastest car for the first half of the season in 2009. I don't think the seasons are comparable. Jenson's win was more impressive.

If you want to compare Vettel's 2010 title win to any season, i would say it would have to be 1997. He won the title with the fastest car, but he made very hard work of it.

Neither the Brawn nor the Williams fell apart whenever it felt like it. You may downplay it to being the car as much as you want, but ignoring that Vettel lost 63 net points due to reliability issues is just... well, ignorant.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

I don't want to wade into this debate, because this thread is for congratulating Seb on a well crafted championship victory, one he deserves.

But in 2010 he also LOST around the same amount of points at in Turkey, Spa, Silverstone(mistake that led to puncture) and hungary(exceeding 10 car lengths) due to his own errors.

So he had a fast car, it was unreliable to a point. But he also made mistakes.
Also, as for calling others "ignorant", its probably best you kept this on a PM level as it doesnt come across very well when in debate.

Just posting this so we dont see another drivers thread locked.

[raymondu999]

To be fair JET; I think the point was that in 2010; even despite mistakes; Seb should have wrapped up the title earlier. I don't think anyone is denying that 2010-spec Seb made a fair share of mistakes

[CHT]

Here is an article comparing Vettel's 2010 to 2011 WDC.

http://www.itv.com/formula1/blogs/why-s ... reat-0677/

[Mandrake]

To be fair JET; I think the point was that in 2010; even despite mistakes; Seb should have wrapped up the title earlier. I don't think anyone is denying that 2010-spec Seb made a fair share of mistakes

His mistakes were also very much related to the technical DNFs....he was under pressure and a bit frustrated because he did everything right, led the races flawlessly when his car just broke down. Had his car not broken down he would possibly have reacted differently in Spa, Silverstone and Turkey.

Coincidentally it was these DNFs which made his team mate Mark Webber score more points than him, intensifying the whole situation around RBR. Vettel had the speed, Mark the more reliable car. Another point of frustration.

This year, with all the deserved reliability, he was bagging the points as he should have done last year and was much more relaxed!

[CHT]

To be fair JET; I think the point was that in 2010; even despite mistakes; Seb should have wrapped up the title earlier. I don't think anyone is denying that 2010-spec Seb made a fair share of mistakes

His mistakes were also very much related to the technical DNFs....he was under pressure and a bit frustrated because he did everything right, led the races flawlessly when his car just broke down. Had his car not broken down he would possibly have reacted differently in Spa, Silverstone and Turkey.

Coincidentally it was these DNFs which made his team mate Mark Webber score more points than him, intensifying the whole situation around RBR. Vettel had the speed, Mark the more reliable car. Another point of frustration.

This year, with all the deserved reliability, he was bagging the points as he should have done last year and was much more relaxed!

what make Vettel a really deserving champion in 2010 was the last race at Abu Dhabi. coming to the race from behind and took the championship away from other WDC like Alonso and team mate Webber.

If you can come out victorious from such a nail biting race, anything else will be a piece of cake.

[Gerhard Berger]

[quote="GibletI think Vettel's 2010 season was a little more on par with Jenson's 2009. The difference is that Button did everything he needed to in the beginning, while Vettel did everything he needed to in the last half of the season to win.

The key similarity to me is that both drivers ended up in a position where they _had_ to produce to win the title. Seb did it in the last race, Jenson did it the race before.

What makes a champion comes down to a moment of make or break, and both drivers did this.

Red Bull was the fastest car throughout the season in 2010. Brawn was the fastest car for the first half of the season in 2009. I don't think the seasons are comparable. Jenson's win was more impressive.

If you want to compare Vettel's 2010 title win to any season, i would say it would have to be 1997. He won the title with the fastest car, but he made very hard work of it.

Neither the Brawn nor the Williams fell apart whenever it felt like it. You may downplay it to being the car as much as you want, but ignoring that Vettel lost 63 net points due to reliability issues is just... well, ignorant.[/quote]

This is not the way F1 works. You can not just ignore reliablity and re write history to suit your favourite driver. Sure he had bad luck last season, so did all the top drivers.

[Vasco]

He is prone to mistakes, like every normal human being....he did an awesome job this year, very clinical and fully deserves it. IMO, the mistakes he made last year and the year before, has made him a supreme driver and a deserving champion.

All he needs to do now is stop making those lame comments and whack ass jokes...he sometimes sounds like a fool!

[raymondu999]

Guys lets stop talking of 2010. That is the past and I think he has demonstrated this year that he has grown. A lot. Let's celebrate his 2011 triumph rather than his 2010!

[mnmracer]

I know it's from 2010, but just read this and thought it was beautiful. It shows Vettel's determination, and I think that's one of the reasons, besides being faster, that he's got such a lead over Webber in the same car.

I follow F1 very closely and knew of Sebastian's plight last season. At one point, he was almost out of the championship running and few people would have bet on him. But Sebastian didn't give up. He fought until the end and he got it done. I watched him with respect and admiration -- greatly appreciating what he was doing. He was at the top of his game. It took concentration that was all-consuming. It took fierce determination and tenacity.

At the world class level, it truly is mind over muscle, mind over competition, mind over everything. That's why nobody deserves this trophy more than him. He is a perfect example of what this award is about. It's about someone who perseveres. Someone who fights until the last lap of the season. Even when the odds are against you, you believe in your heart you can get it done. That's a real champion. That's the spirit of this award and I can't wait to present it to Sebastian because I truly believe he deserves it.

[raymondu999]

"last season?" was that from 2010 talking of 2009, or 2011 talking of 2010?

Also, what award did Mario present Seb?