Are we seeing a Vettel era?

[MIKEY_!]

Excuse me while i tuck into this humble pie...

Guess Vettel's is just more in your face or something... I'll be quite now

[jamsbong]

He was presented with an opportunity (the luck part) but he still had to do the work to get the win.

I have a different interpretation of opportunity. To me, everyone had to face the same wet track. Everyone had the opportunity. Vettel grabbed it. If he is lucky, then so is everyone else.

As for the finger bit. Even Martin Brundle don't like it but seems like winners always to do it. I foresee that some ppl will always find ways to hate/criticise champions. But... Not me.

[MIKEY_!]

I think right place right time comes into it. Monza 2011, lap 1, turn 1: no one could have seen that coming. Had the podium contenders been hit that would have been one amazing game changer. But they weren't.

But we don't know, Nico could have had a pile up with some of the top drivers later in the race and Petrov could have got some podium action.

As for people criticising vetel, everyone has faults. His just happens to be obvious, and he's the one everyone is looking at (rightly so) so everyone notices.

[Steven]

To have a real Vettel era he might move to another team and prove he can do it there too, but no doubt Red Bull is currently not a team to leave. Still, I think Ferrari will bounce back next year. It has shown in the past as well that Newey's cars get overhauled after a few years of iterations.

Sure he is in the best car, but one must also consider he is outqualifying his teammate consistently. And may I remind you Mark Webber was notorious for being a good qualifier, as early as his Minardi days, through to Jaguar and Williams as well. He is not such a shabby driver like some people like to think.

[jamsbong]

Thats right. I remember Webber always outquali his teammate. Nowadays, Vettel's glory is overshadowing Webber's past success.

That said, I think Button and Alonso are also focused drivers. I bet when Button or Alonso is given the "right car", they will give great challenge to Vettel.

[raymondu999]

Webber, if I remember correctly, was always immensely quick. Just that he wasn't consistent, and never could get clean races on the board

[MIKEY_!]

Of course the cars he drove pre-RBR weren't exactly quick or reliable if i recall correctly.

[WhiteBlue]

I think Ferrari will bounce back next year. It has shown in the past as well that Newey's cars get overhauled after a few years of iterations.

I don't think so. Ferrari are mired in Montezemolo's mess. Until he goes they will not come back to the top in my view. Alonso is wasting his time there. He will get increaseingly angry with Ferrari in the coming years. Just my opinion but the past five years tell a story.

[Traction]

I doubt Vettel needs to move to any other car just to prove himself. No one said Shumacher must move around in order to prove he can race. It was generally just accepted he could because he was winning and becuase of his accomplishments. Of course with Vettel its different for some reason. What I like about Vettel is the fact that he has won one championship and is on the verge of following it up with another one. By making it a double he has proven that he is not just a flash in the pan racer that can win a championship and then wins a race here and ther afterwards. He has proven that he has what it takes to sustain that winning form.A second, a first and another possible first look better than most records of current drivers if not all and should certainly be regarded as a start to an era

[ringo]

Was there an Alonso era?

No, so i don't think we are seeing a vettel era, we are seeing a second Adrian Newey renaissance.

I'm not convinced it's all driver. When it's like Micheal then it's a Vettel era.
So far he is doing good in what he's given, but he needs a top shot teammate to beat before i say it's his era.
Senna was a great and never really had an era. His teammates were tough.

[Traction]

fair enough, of course it can`t only be the driver it has to be a combination of driver/car/team etc but the driver is the one out on the track driving the car making the split second decisions race in race out. If he were to win the chamionship for the next 4 years totalling 6 in a row would it then not be considered a Vettel era? so the question is how many times in a row (or in a certain period) is defined as an era?

[beelsebob]

Was there an Alonso era?

No, so i don't think we are seeing a vettel era, we are seeing a second Adrian Newey renaissance.

I'm not convinced it's all driver. When it's like Micheal then it's a Vettel era.
So far he is doing good in what he's given, but he needs a top shot teammate to beat before i say it's his era.
Senna was a great and never really had an era. His teammates were tough.

To be fair – Schumacher never really had super strong team mates either. Barrichello is a really really awesome consistent driver – but he was never WDC material. I'd have loved to have seen Hakinnen get a Ferrari drive and see the two go at it.

[Traction]

[...] Vettel is an nice guy, but an Vettel era? No way, like was said before, Vettel was defeated by teammates in most of the racing classes before F1 nor does he shows any real racecraft, he drives the car and thats it. To become an great driver you also have to work the team, in which Vettel seems really lazy. He has a bit of an lazy attitude. [...]

In the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber

Vettel bounced back to finish a career-best fourth a week later at the Chinese Grand Prix having started 17th on the grid while in mixed conditions. He collected five championship points, making it both his and Toro Rosso's best race result

In the next race at the Monaco Grand Prix, Vettel scored his first points of the season with a fifth place finish, after qualifing 17th. He scored again at the Canadian Grand Prix fighting off Heikki Kovalainen in the last few laps for the final championship point, having started from pit lane.

He impressed many at the European Grand Prix by setting the fastest times in the first practice session and second qualifying session, before qualifying sixth on the grid. Vettel finished the race in sixth, two seconds behind Jarno Trulli.

In the Brazilian Grand Prix, after running second for much of the race on a one-stop strategy, Vettel overtook Lewis Hamilton in the rain for fifth place on the penultimate lap to contribute to a thrilling climax to the season.

Some examples from wiki about how Vettel has fought up through the field....

[wesley123]

so? That shows any racecraft? The Toro Rosso's work their way up from 17th till tenth every race, still everyone has huge critic on both drivers. Racecraft for me means that you can overtake, defend, drive quickly and are able to anticipate on what has to come. To me Vettel only has the drive quickly part, although his overtake in Monza last weekend was a good one. He only drives quickly with the car he gets, he doesnt push the team in any when it is needed to, he barely gives any input and when he is outside the car he seems lazy as hell. The only reason he is becoming a 2 time WDC is because of the car, not because he himself worked really hard for it. Lok at Alonso, he pushes the team, he really works for it and has really worked for what he achieved, and the same counts for Schumacher. 2 guys who really build the team, really know their team and fought for it. Not getting a car delivered to drive in and drive fast, he is supposed to win the championship in it, I'd expect 90% of the field to do the same thing in his position, nothing specially Vettel about it but more Red Bull

[ringo]

[...] Vettel is an nice guy, but an Vettel era? No way, like was said before, Vettel was defeated by teammates in most of the racing classes before F1 nor does he shows any real racecraft, he drives the car and thats it. To become an great driver you also have to work the team, in which Vettel seems really lazy. He has a bit of an lazy attitude. [...]

In the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, Vettel worked his way up to third, behind Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber

He has some race craft no doubt, but when in the rain i don't buy that he is that exceptional. Whenever in the rain racing hamilton. Hamilton makes him look like a rookie. His craft isn't really there i must say.
Hungary this year made it abundantly clear that he's ok in the wet, but not really that much better than the average driver in the wet.

As it relates to going through the field, webber is better at this than Vettel. Webber has better race craft and you can't argue with that.
I'm not saying Vettel has none, but he doesn't have more than average. Right now Perez and Kobayashi have better race craft, and i'm not pulling your leg.