Yahoo Sports Sebastian Vettel's Third Act Is Off and Running
Sebastian Vettel's early career is almost certainly the greatest first few years in F1 history. After earning a quick promotion to Red Bull's senior team, Vettel finished second in one season before rattling off four straight championships in cars designed by Adrian Newey. One off year later, he left for Ferrari in hopes of leading the Italian marque in the fight against Mercedes for further driver and team championships. In six seasons at Ferrari, he failed to mount a serious challenge to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. In 2021, at just 33, that led him to a third act.
This is the twelfth installment of our driver-by-driver preview of the 2022 Formula 1 season. This weekend, we will be covering Aston Martin Racing. You can find the rest of our previews here.
That act is coming at Aston Martin, a mid-table team owned by his teammate's father. In 2021, Vettel put together a string of admirable performances in a car that took a major step back from a race-winning previous season. In 2022, Vettel will be asked to move the team up the grid.
HOW HE GOT HERE
Before Max Verstappen had so much as stepped into a racing car, Vettel was the golden child of Helmut Marko's Red Bull development program. He came to the team from Sauber's F1 program, where he was awarded a reserve seat after strong runs in various Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5 championships in 2005 and 2006. After one appearance at Sauber, he was hired to the junior team then known as Scuderia Toro Rosso for the final seven races of the 2007 season.
Vettel arrived in 2008. A dominant win in the rain at Monza, the first for any Red Bull-owned car of either team, cemented the young German as comparable to then-second year champion Lewis Hamilton in promise. A year later, he was promoted to Red Bull's senior team. Four wins and a second-place finish to Jenson Button followed.
Then, over the next four years, uninterrupted success. Four titles, 34 wins, and 40 poles highlighted one of the strongest runs in the history of the sport. Red Bull and Vettel seemed prime for further success in 2014, but they struggled to stay competitive with Mercedes. Vettel struggled more than the team, though; even as a clear lead driver, he was actually beaten by teammate Daniel Ricciardo that season.
He then left for a struggling Ferrari, in emulation of fellow German F1 icon Michael Schumacher. However, where Schumacher and Ross Brawn led the team to a decade of dominance, Vettel struggled to help Ferrari re-establish itself as a major player in the series. Two runner-up finishes over six seasons, both to Hamilton, highlighted what was otherwise a disappointing pairing that at one point seemed so full of promise. Ferrari decided to give their lead role to Charles Leclerc by hiring the lower-profile Carlos Sainz in Vettel's place, so Vettel was left to fall to Aston Martin Racing for the 2021 season.
HOW 2021 WENT
In 2020, Aston Martin (then Racing Point) lead driver Sergio Perez finished fourth in the driver's standings. In 2021, new Aston Martin lead driver Vettel finished 12th. It was a disappointing individual season, but it can be ascribed to significant performance losses for Aston Martin far more than to any failure on Vettel's part.
Vettel, for his part, drove the car to a few exceptional finishes anyway. He got to fifth at Monaco, then a season-high second at Azerbaijan in a race defined by leaders crashing from the lead in the closing laps. His last top five of the year came in the canceled race at Spa, effectively little more than an award for qualifying, but he still recorded all three of Aston Martin's top five finishes.
Consistency was its own issue. Despite a lack of notably great races, Stroll finished just nine points behind Vettel in the standings. In the end, Vettel scored points just seven times in 22 races.
GOALS FOR 2022
While he has an undeniable talent to tap back into, Vettel's biggest leaps will come only if Aston Martin can regain some semblance of competitive pace. 2020's 4th-ranked team finished a distance 7th in 2021; if the team can improve, Vettel's best races will lead to far more significant results.
Vettel's one-lap pace has not disappeared. Despite Aston Martin's struggles, driver ranked fourth all time in Formula 1 poles made the final round of knockout qualifying seven times in 2021. In a fast car, he could be back to taking poles and dominating from the start of races. The questions are if he will ever get a chance in a fast car again and if he can hold onto that dominant form for more than a few races over a season in one.
A SUCCESSFUL SEASON LOOKS LIKE...
Whether or not Aston Martin moves up the grid, Vettel will be able to compare himself to Stroll. If he can continue to excel in that match-up, he should be able to continue to justify his place on the grid. For a driver of Vettel's talent and accomplishment, that part is relatively easy.
The hard part will be taking Aston Martin further. The team once known as Midland, then Spyker, Force India, and Racing Point at different points, is historically unsuccessful. Perez's one win in 2020 was the greatest moment in the history of the long-suffering and often-sold team. If Vettel can get Aston Martin to a point where wins are the consistent expectation, he will be one of the most impressive drivers on the grid once again. That starts with consistent podiums, then a win, then multiple wins.
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