Are we seeing a Vettel era?

[raymondu999]

Well after a fashion you could say that Vettel had a similar time to Lewis right now, last year. Crashing left right and center; and being well and truly thrashed by a teammate everyone expected him to dominate; though he didn't really get sucked in to any personal issues on the matter.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

Vettel has been unerring this year, save for his Canada last lap mis-hap...which he still bagged second to a charging Button.


Are we seeing a Vettel era? Most definitely.

[marcush.]

So marcush.. is your accent like Nick's, the German boy in Simpsons or the Norbert Haug style?

Vettel's accent sounds very fake to me btw. I really want to see him in a difficult space next year. I want to see his true character. I want to hear how he really speaks. They say people always show their true selves when under pressure.

well..sure had bétter times ,I have to admit...years of spoiling in automotive industry have taken their toll ..and two years in Italy have not helped either...


to me Vettel sounds very much like someone who really has a lot non technicnical conversation ..maybe he has some difficulty to be not too repetitive but then other drivers got famous for their "for sure"count (unfortunatelly i fail to remember who that was...)

[Richard]

Vettel is a very conversationalist outside the stage managed setting. He spent 10 mins with Coulthard, Brundle and Humphrey in Japan (or Korea?). It made great viewing he's obviously a very likeable chap when out of the spotlight.

[raymondu999]

other drivers got famous for their "for sure"count (unfortunatelly i fail to remember who that was...)

That would probably be the Ferrari pitfall guys; including Stefano Domenicali

Vettel is a very conversationalist outside the stage managed setting. He spent 10 mins with Coulthard, Brundle and Humphrey in Japan (or Korea?). It made great viewing he's obviously a very likeable chap when out of the spotlight.

I think that was in the red button forum after he clinched his title in Japan

[yener]

Sebastian Vettel wont win the championship next year. The reason i think this way is because

Schumacher Benneton: 1994+1995 after that it took him 5 years to become WC again.

Damon Hill, Villeneuve: 1996+1997. They had a really good car but the people in the paddock are not sleeping forever.

Mika Hakinnen, McLaren: 1998+1999 They had the best car on the most tracks but all things came to an end at the 2000 season

Fernando Alonso Renault: 2005+2006 Also not a 3thrd time in 2007


What im trying to explain is that most of the time, the domination of a team or driver ends after 2 years. The Schumacher Ferrari period is an exception.

[raymondu999]

Historical statistics don't always repeat though. It can; but there's no dead guarantee

[beelsebob]

Sebastian Vettel wont win the championship next year. The reason i think this way is because

Schumacher Benneton: 1994+1995 after that it took him 5 years to become WC again.

Damon Hill, Villeneuve: 1996+1997. They had a really good car but the people in the paddock are not sleeping forever.

Mika Hakinnen, McLaren: 1998+1999 They had the best car on the most tracks but all things came to an end at the 2000 season

Fernando Alonso Renault: 2005+2006 Also not a 3thrd time in 2007


What im trying to explain is that most of the time, the domination of a team or driver ends after 2 years. The Schumacher Ferrari period is an exception.

Give me an underlying cause behind that and I might believe you, but at the moment all you have is a pattern in a too-small sample.

[RB7ate9]

Sebastian Vettel wont win the championship next year. The reason i think this way is because

Schumacher Benneton: 1994+1995 after that it took him 5 years to become WC again.

Damon Hill, Villeneuve: 1996+1997. They had a really good car but the people in the paddock are not sleeping forever.

Mika Hakinnen, McLaren: 1998+1999 They had the best car on the most tracks but all things came to an end at the 2000 season

Fernando Alonso Renault: 2005+2006 Also not a 3thrd time in 2007


What im trying to explain is that most of the time, the domination of a team or driver ends after 2 years. The Schumacher Ferrari period is an exception.

So you're saying 2012 is Webber's best (read: last) chance to be WDC ?

[raymondu999]

I agree with Beelsebob. Also it's important to note that 1996-1999 was all Newey. It wasn't 2 years of Williams and 2 years of McLaren; it was 4 years of Newey.

[Mandrake]

1997 MSC was very close
1998 All McLaren Territory
1999 again MSC was very close to winning the title

With no rule change, restricted budgets, a very good car concept - I see no reason why Vettel+RB8 shouldn't be successful. Not saying it's gonna be a walk in the park!

By the way, does anyone else think that either Vettel or the RB7 is getting better again relative to the competition? At times this year, the McLaren was faster in the race....other than in Japan it hasn't happened in the last races...

[raymondu999]

Yep; what Mandrake said. It won't be less easy than it has been this year; but other than that I think they'll be a frontrunner; and would probably still win (even if only by 1point)

As for the RB7 seemingly pulling out front once again; I think it's the changes they've made to setup. Chris Horner said a while back that they've fundamentally changed their baseline setup and sacrificed a huge chunk of qualifying speed in order for better race pace

[Tyler]

I've been looking at statistics and if my maths is right, Vettel is already statistically the 9th best F1 driver of all time, just one behind Alonso and one ahead of Hakkinen.
At the end of his career Vettel is surely going to be remembered as one of the sports all time greats.

[MIKEY_!]

Vettel is a very conversationalist outside the stage managed setting. He spent 10 mins with Coulthard, Brundle and Humphrey in Japan (or Korea?). It made great viewing he's obviously a very likeable chap when out of the spotlight.

According to Top Gear he's exactly that. Of course this is the ultimate test

[Richard]

yener - The reason Hill didn't win another WDC was because he was dumped and joined Arrows. Similarly Schumacher let Benetton in 1996 for Ferrari. Alonso left Renault for McLaren.

So that's three of your examples irrelevant, unless you expect Vettel to drive for someone else next year?

As others have commented, the common thread is the presence of Newey.