Will Sebastian Vettel follow in Michael Schumacher’s footsteps? – Formula 1
The comparison between Mercedes Michael Schumacher and Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel has been a topic of discussion ever since Vettel won his first Formula 1 title in 2010.
The speculation that Vettel is on his way to become the new Schumacher has only gained heat as the Red Bull driver continued his winning streak by attaining the tile in 2011 as well. As the current season approaches its end with only two more races to go
and Vettel leading the championship grid, it has become even more interesting if the young driver will be able to fill the hole that Schumacher will leave in the F1 community after he retires at the end of 2012.
Schumacher started his F1 career by joining the Jordan Ford team and continuing with Benetton the very next year. His long career, which also includes one retirement, is full of brilliant achievements. He is famous for turning around circumstances in his
on favour even if he was having a hard time in the beginning. There have been seasons where he might have not won the championship itself but has brought some superb races to various tracks. To this date, he has scored 155 podiums, 1560 race points and has
entered 306 Grands Prix.
Vettel made his debut in the F1 community when he joined the BMW Sauber team in 2006. He next joined the Toro Rosso team and continued with Red Bull Racing. The driver helped the Red Bull team to win its first ever constructors’ title in 2010. The driver
is only 25 years old and still has many years to spend in this sport but has already claimed 45 podium finishes and 1028 race points. He has entered 99 Grands Prix in his small career and will be completing 100 GP’s as he will be racing on the newly developed
Circuit of the Americas in United States later this month.
Discussing the personal details of his life, Vettel once mentioned that his childhood heroes included the ‘the three Michaels’, one of whom was Schumacher. The youngster has had the honour of receiving the trophy for a Karting championship that he won when
he was just eight years old by Schumacher himself. The comparison can be justified through the many similarities found between the two drivers. Both are of German nationality and share early driving success which has led the German media to nickname the younger
man as ‘baby Schumi’ or ‘new Schumacher’. The drivers share a similar family background as their fathers belonged to working class. They both began their racing careers through Karting at the Kerpen karting track. Schumacher won the F1 titles three times in
a row from 2000 to 2002 while he has secured a total of seven F1 titles in a career spanning over more than two decades. Vettel became the youngest doubles champion after winning his second consecutive drivers’ title along with the constructors’ title in 2011.
Pirelli’s Paul Hembery was immensely impressed with Vettel when he questioned him about the car tyres so as to improve racing performance while he admitted that the only other driver to do so was Schumacher.
Former F1 champion, Niki Lauda, had also speculated about Vettel following in Schumacher’s footsteps when he became the youngest champion at the age of 24. Lauda has cited that such an achievement is historic.
Vettel has constantly down played his comparison with legendry driver. He thinks that Schumacher was one of a kind and no F1 driver, German or not, will be able to fill his gap. Schumacher thinks that Vettel has the ability to break his records. Only two
races to go and we will know if Vettel will become the triple champion but he has a long way ahead in order to catch up to Schumacher.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the writer’s and do not reflect bettor.com’s official editorial policy.
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