2012 likely to be a stern test for Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel has had a dream run so far, coming into the Formula 1 league in 2007 with Toro Rosso, the young German could not have dreamed a better reality that he finds himself in.
The winner of two back-to-back world titles joined Red Bull in 2009 and straight away impressed the management and former drivers as he managed 84 points and a second place finish in the drivers’ championship.
In 2010 his senior teammate Mark Webber was in a strong position to take his first ever world title. Nobody told Vettel that as the rookie showed his potential in the latter part of the season and won five Grands Prix and a total of 10 podiums in the season. The German scored 210 points and sealed his first world title and a record of the youngest driver to do it.
If 2010 was a great achievement for the German, 2011 season sealed his name in the history books forever as Vettel raced his way to 11 Grands Prix wins, 17 podiums and 392 points to take his second title and became the youngest driver to secure back to back world titles.
Some former driver view the wins as not the true picture of skill and brilliance but a handicap advantage of having a dominating Red Bull car which found a loophole in the aerodynamic policies of FIA other teams failed to emulate.
Although it is true that the Red Bull car had a clear advantage over other cars, but the fact that a more experienced Webber was driving the other Red Bull car and only managed to secure a singular Grand Prix win. The win came only at the final race of the season at the Brazil Grand Prix. During the race Vettel had some technical issues with the gearbox of the car and was advised to go slower in order to protect the car. This allowed Webber to take the lead but Vettel still ended up second in the race.
Many view the 2012 season to be the real test for the young German. It will be critical how well the RB8 is designed in order to compete with other teams on the grid. The FIA has changed the regulations to take out the advantage that Red Bull had over the last two years. This has led to a lot of other teams believing that they can be in serious contention for the world titles.
Vettel has the potential and talent to do it as he has shown in the previous two years, but does have enough nerves at such a young age to face up to the immense burden of expectations from fans and the media will be the real question.
As the RB8 is an evolution of the successful RB7 it may as well be just as fast and strong, but the regulation changes have put forth the fear of the unknown and that might hinder the team’s ambitions.
Red Bull will still be considered the favourites of the 2012 season but other teams like Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are also expected to be not too far behind. A mention to the underdogs of the upcoming season Lotus F1 has to be there as the team has made quite a few changes to be competitive and most importantly have been able to hire Kimi Raikkonen for a Formula 1 comeback. The season will definitely test the best of drivers as the season is ready to fire up with six world champions revving the engines at the grid, a first for the sport.
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