Sebastian Vettel has a lot to learn
He has tremendous talent, but will he become a Formula One world champion?
Maybe not this year, as the Belgian Grand Prix showed why Sebastian Vettel has a lot of work to do if he wants to win his first world title.
At Spa on Sunday, he started from fourth on the grid, moved to third and was chasing Jenson Button down for second position. Unfortunately for him, his aggressiveness and impatience showed, as he hit a bump on the track when trying to overtake Button, lost control of the car and smashed into the side of the McLaren.
Button retired from the race, while Vettel was given a drive-through penalty for causing the collision. Out of contention for the win, he then suffered a puncture after making contact with another car’s front-wing. He had to crawl back to the pits, and as Spa has the longest lap on the Formula One calendar, it took a lot of time. He eventually finished the race in 15th, and has lost ground in the battle for the title.
It wasn’t a surprise to see what Vettel did when he was behind Button. Although it wasn’t his fault, it seems he needs to begin to learn how to be patient. This is not the first time this season that Vettel has shot himself in the foot. He has the fastest car on the grid, but has not maximised his chances.
At the Turkish Grand Prix, he collided with his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, throwing away the chance to win the race and valuable points. In Hungary, he was leading the race, but he was penalised after he wasn’t the required distance when following the safety car. At Silverstone, he lost pole position to Webber, and then had a puncture on the first lap. He finished the race in seventh place.
Some may say he has brought this on himself, but at the start of the season, the car let him down as well.
He poled in Bahrain, but was denied the win thanks to an exhaust problem which saw him fall down the grid and relinquish the win to Fernando Alonso. In Australia he also poled, but this time his brakes let him down, and he retired from the grand prix. In both of those races, he had comfortable leads. In Spain, he had to nurse the car to the finish line after being told he had no brakes over the team radio. It’s hard to believe the 23-year-old German has taken seven pole positions and has only won two races out of 13, considering the number of times he has led a race.
Compared to Lewis Hamilton, who won at Belgium and is now leading the drivers’ standings, Vettel has a lot to learn. He’s brilliant when he’s by himself at the front, but when he has to make his way through the field, it’s a different story. Hamilton is able to combine raw speed with great race-craft. That’s why he’s top and Vettel is trailing by 31 points. If Vettel was able to be patient behind other drivers, then without any doubt he would be sitting on top of the pile.
But it could be too late for him this season.
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