Sebastian Vettel: Race Archives
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2009 | 2008 | 2007

Belgian GP: We're back in the fight!
August 30th, 2009
At one of Sebastian's favorite tracks, Spa, he proved that after two consecutive DNFs, he's still able to finish a race. Starting from 8th, Sebastian chose a safe start, which first lost him places, but soon brought him back to where he had started. He climbed up to fourth throughout the race and managed to overtake Kubica for third place after his second pit stop. Claiming to have a perfect car after that, he started closing in on Fisichella and Räikkönen, but didn’t have enough laps left to really try anything. Finishing third tastes even sweeter for Seb after title contenders Button and Webber failed to score, moving him back up to 3rd in the championship, 19 points away from Jenson. 

“If you look at the Championship board, today was a good result. Obviously it was not easy to start from the middle of the pack, but the actual start was good. I was maybe too conservative in the middle of the first lap when I saw Nick go off the track - very often cars tend to come back on to the circuit spinning; I lost a position to Nico Rosberg and had to catch him back up after the restart. I lost too much ground to the leading cars in the first stint, but in the second and third stints the car was fantastic, I didn’t make any mistakes and was pushing like it was qualifying on every lap. It was a pleasure to drive the car and we were quicker than the guys in front. We took points out of the Brawn team today, so that’s good for the team and it’s good to score more points than Jenson and Rubens for the drivers’ championship. A big thank you to the team and compliments to Renault - after everything we’ve gone through in the last couple of races, it’s good to finish a race again. We’ve proven that we are back.”


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: No Time (19th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:47.602 (10th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:46.747 (14th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:45.372 (??)
S2: 1:44.592 (??)
S3: 1:46.761 (8th)
Race Results: 3rd, +3.875 sec.

European GP: Not again?!
August 23rd, 2009
After a long break, the heat of Spain did not feel good for Red Bull cars. Sebastian's engine blew on saturday morning, and he had a new one for the Qualifying. There, Sebastian impressively outqualified Mark, starting from fourth under negative conditions, and kept the pace until his first pitstop. A problem in the refueling hose obbligated him to take another pitstop, and put him in the back of race. If that wasn't bad enough, his engine blew again, causing his retirement, and leaving Sebastian with only two engines left for next six races.

“The biggest problem today was the first stop - we weren’t able to get fuel in the car, so we had to come in again. We were lucky to make it back for a second stop. The race was lost already at that point but then, a couple of laps on, I had a problem with the engine and I had to retire. It’s not good. In terms of the Championship, I will fight until the last breath, but it’s not good to have retired when you’re hunting and want to get more points than your opponent. You’re in a position to do it, but then you don’t finish the race.”


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:43.088 (5th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:40.723 (9th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:40.916 (18th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: ?? (??)
S2: ?? (??)
S3: 1:39.789 (4th)
Race Results: DNF, engine failure

Hungarian GP: A not so good way to start...
July 26th, 2009
Hungary wasn't a race to remember for Sebastian. KERS cars behind him on the grid caused a drop-back from second to seventh place at the end of the first lap. To top this off, he was also hit by Kimi Raikkonen in the first corner and had to make an un-scheduled pitstop to get a new nose. It didn't do much good, after 29 laps Sebastian was forced to retire as his front-left suspension gave up.

“I had a collision on the first corner with Kimi. I was on the inside and had a clear run to accelerate, his car came sideways and we touched – he crashed into my car, it can happen. This was why my first pit stop was bad and, at some point, the front-left suspension gave up and we had to retire the car. We knew it would be close with the other teams here, but at the start of the race there’s nothing you can do other than putting your foot down. We have a button on our steering wheel, which is similar to the other teams, but nothing happens if you press it. You go into the first corner and you have five or six cars next to each other instead of three or four, so it’s a different situation.”


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:23.283 (15th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:22.550 (6th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:21.971 (10th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: ?? (??)
S2: ?? (??)
S3: 1:21.607 (2nd)
Race Results: DNF, suspension failure

German GP: That was close...
July 12th, 2009
Sebastian qualified in fourth position for his home race, which was perhaps not as high as he had hoped for. He drove a pretty invisible race, on a two-stop strategy with stops in laps 21 and 44. However, that strategy later turned out to be the best decision that weekend. Both Brawns had troubles, and were on a three-stop-strategy, which eventually dropped them back to behind Sebastian, who secured second place behind his teammate Mark Webber, who won his first ever Grand Prix.

"Another one-two finish for the team. I am very, very happy. I would like to say I am very, very pleased with second but yesterday Mark did a better job and that is why he deserved to win."
"All the KERS cars got past me, I started fourth and then went into first corner eighth," said Vettel. "And then basically I struggled a lot with the soft tyre. There was no way to pass Felipe, he used his special button when I was quite close.
"I was lucky to have the right strategy, in the end it brought us back to the correct position."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:33.909 (8th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:32.331 (2nd)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:31.542 (4th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: ?? (??)
S2: ?? (??)
S3: 1:32.480 (4th)
Race Results: 2nd, +9.2 sec.

British GP: Ha!
June 21st, 2009
Sebastian showed just how big the step that Red Bull had taken was, when he completely dominated the Silverstone GP from beginning to end. Starting from pole position, he launched his car forward from the moment the lights went out. He pulled away from second-placed Rubens Barrichello with a second a lap, and was never even remotely threatened throughout the entire race. He crossed the chequered flag 15.1 seconds ahead of teammate Mark Webber, who'd overtaken Rubens Barrichello for second place.

"The start was important, the first stint I pushed hard straight away to try and build a gap, I knew it was crucial as I would benefit all race from it. I had a fantastic car. I was able to push more an more and more."
"The second stint wasn't easy at all, they said 'be careful'. I had a lot of traffic and a lot of battling cars, it is tricky when you get close. It was anything else but easy."
"It was great and in the last pitstop I was in clean air. I was counting down the laps and controlling the race from that point onwards. The last 10 laps were quite easy but before that I was pushing hard and in second stint was like a slalom, having to pass a lot of lapped cars."
"It is fantastic. It shows we are on the right way. I want to thank Silverstone: it's only my second time here, I enjoyed it so much here, the cheering was fantastic, the emotions especially when I crossed the chequered flag, it was fantastic."
"The atmosphere was great. This is what I was dreaming of when I saw the first grand prix here in era of Mansell and so on. It is unreal now to think I am here, I have made it and I have won this grand prix."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:19.400 (1st)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:19.456 (1st)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:19.371 (4th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: ?? (??)
S2: ?? (??)
S3: 1:19.509 (1st)
Race Results: Race Winner.

Turkish GP: I'm not happy.
June 7th, 2009
Starting from the pole position for the second time in the year, Sebastian commited a mistake in the first laps, that costed him the first position to british Jenson Button. Trying to catch him, the team invested in a three stops strategy, that got him so close to Jenson in the second stint, but two stops from end. That also ended up putting him behind his teammate, Mark Webber, and Sebastian wasn't able to catch him, and both drivers were told to take it easier and save their cars.

"When we have seen Jenson was not behind us, I thought we were switching to two stops. Then in the second stint I was in traffic to Jenson, I nearly passed him, I had one chance but it was quite tricky and after that I lost a bit of time. It turned out three stopping was possibly not as quick as two stops. I nearly lost car in turns 9/10. It was my mistake. All day it was difficult there - maybe there was a tail wind. On the second lap I nearly lost the car again. But he reckoned that ultimately the Brawn was just too fast to beat today. I don't think it would have made a big difference as Jenson was too quick today. I don't hink I would have been able to hold him. They did not tell me to pass Mark, they said Mark was faster, so similar to what he did, we turned the engine down. If you start from pole you want to win and if you lose the lead on the first lap it is not good. If you see someone has quicker pace it is not nice to see. I was third and of course I was not happy with that and kept pushing to the end. I turned the engine down, but I would rather go fast for the last few laps than just going around."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:29.337 (4th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:29.202 (5th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:28.451 (10th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: ?? (??)
S2: ?? (??)
S3: 1:28.316 (1st)
Race Results: 3rd, + 7.4 sec.

Monaco GP: Maybe it was a bad choice...
May 24th, 2009
A great start, but in thhe wrong tyre strategy costed Sebastian a try at the Monaco Grand Prix. In a shorter stint, he started the race with softer tires, that didn't resist as long as expected, and that gave him some problems holding Felipe Massa. However, he did that successfully for a while, until it was impossible to keep it for longer. Losing positions, he ended up crashing and retiring the race.

"Not much to tell, I was braking maybe a little bit too late, locked the rears, lost the car and hit the wall. Of course we lost a lot of time already in the first stint, being on the wrong tyres. We thought that those tyres would work with a short stint anyway. But they didn't. Of course it is disappointing. Sometimes this happens and in Monaco you make a little mistake and you have to pay the price."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:19.233 (13th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:15.847 (6th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:15.722 (8th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:15.915 (??)
S2: 1:14.879 (??)
S3: 1:15.271 (4th)
Race Results: DNF, accident.

Spanish GP: No more red cars for me for a while!
May 10th, 2009
Sebastian had the pole position in his hands until the last second, when it got caught by championship leader Jenson Button. With a poor start, he got caught behind brazilian Felipe Massa for most of the race, failing to overtake him also in the pit stops. He recovered the fourth position in the last laps, when Felipe was told by the team to save fuel, because a mistake in his pitstop had given him less fuel than enough to complete the race.

"It's a disappointing race for me, because I think the car was very, very quick today, very competitive and I'm sure we could definitely fight with the Brawns. Unfortunately Felipe got past me at the start and I was stuck behind him all race. I tried to pass a couple of times, but I never really got close enough to start a manoeuvre. It's just very frustrating to see two cars in front pulling away and you're stuck behind a red car for 63 laps. It's very frustrating, especially when you know you can go so much quicker. It's a shame when Felipe ran out of fuel, but obviously I was happier to pass him than I had been for the previous 63 laps stuck behind him.”


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:22.959 (13th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:22.082 (7th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:21.689 (16th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:20.715 (??)
S2: 1:20.220 (??)
S3: 1:20.660 (2nd)
Race Results: 4th, + 18.9 sec.

Bahrain GP: Stuck in traffic...
April 26th, 2009
Starting from third, Sebastian had the advantage of being behind two lighter Toyotas. In the start, he lost two positions, to avoid an accident, but in a longer stint, he got caught behind McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, which costed him the chance to try to catch Jenson further.

"Very good. A good result and good points, but it was a difficult race. The start was okay, but then suddenly Lewis (Hamilton) was next to me - he must have pressed his special button and got an advantage. At the first corner we were three deep, me in the middle and Jenson (Button) on the outside, so I had to give way and lost two positions. Unfortunately I then got stuck behind Lewis, which caused degradation to the tyres - you start to slide and never really come back from that. It's hard braking here so you need the tyres and rear stability. In the second stint I was just behind Jarno (Trulli), which was a shame as I was on soft tyres and could have gone a bit quicker. In the third stint, it was the other way round and I had to defend against Jarno who was then on the soft tryes. He was very close in my mirrors, but I didn't make any mistakes and we came second! A massive thanks to all the guys for this great result."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:34.938 (12th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:33.661 (4th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:33.443 (11th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:32.680 (??)
S2: 1:32.474 (??)
S3: 1:34.015 (3rd)
Race Results: 2nd, +7.187 sec.

Chinese GP: Yaaaaaaaay!!! Yu-hu!
April 18th, 2009
The team was having some problems with the car reability during all weekend, but this was definately in the best, as he set the first pole position in Red Bull Racing history. Sunday was again under a lot of rain, and the decision was set for a start behind safety car, just like on Sebastian's first win, back in 2008, Monza. In a wet track, Sebastian could handle a perfect race, with no mistakes, and become the first winner for his new team.

"We were struggling a bit with reliability, but we fixed it overnight. That speaks of the quality of our team, everybody was trying to fix it. Both cars finished the race. Having a double win for Red Bull is incredible. I think first of all it was the right decision to start behind the safety car as there was a lot of standing water. It was okay at some corners but every lap there would be aquaplaning, sometimes less sometimes more. We knew we were on a short strategy so I had to push at the beginning to get away from the pack which we succeeded in doing. It was very difficult race, a lot of aquaplaning, you were just catching cars, keeping it on circuit. I think I had best conditions as no cars were running in front of me the whole race so it was quite comfortable but still difficult with the aquaplaning, especially in the last corner. With some 10 laps to the end I was always trying to observe the gap to car behind and trying to adapt to his pace. I was trying to have everything in control but it is extremely difficult. I tried to bring the car home. I tried to really be focused corner by corner and not looking too far ahead. The last two laps I backed off, I didn't want to risk going off the track in the same way. Winning the second race, and having won here for Toro Rosso and Red Bull is fantastic."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:38.274 (12th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:36.167 (5th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:37.349 (16th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:36.565 (??)
S2: 1:35.130 (1st)
S3: 1:36.184 (1st)
Race Results: Race Winner.

Malaysian GP: OK, that's too much water...
April 5th, 2009
Sebastian already started the weekend knowing he'd lost 10 positions in the grid. On Saturday, he made it to third in the qualifying, in a light car, so he wouldn't have to start so bad. From 13th, he had a great start of race, getting soon close to the midfield. He was the first to stop, but soon would be getting closer again. The rain was a thread then, and at some point almost all drivers went back for wet tires, but Seb opted for intermediate. They deteriorated, but soon rained strongly and Sebastian lost control and spun. The system who should keep engine running didn't work properly and he had to retire. The race would be stopped on a red flag some laps later, due to heavy rain, and about one hour after was annouced they'd race no longer, also cus of light conditions.

"Not so much to tell. I was on the intermediate tyres and they were pretty gone as it wasn’t very wet before the sudden pour down. I was approaching Turn seven and there was suddenly lots of water, but I was being very cautious. I lost the car due to aquaplaning and there was nothing I could do. There was too much water and my tyres were not made for those conditions. A spin wouldn’t have been much of a problem, but the anti-stall didn’t work. Without that, I would just have spun, lost some time and that would have been it. In the past drivers had three pedals, a throttle, a brake and a clutch and when you were spinning you knew exactly what to do. It’s not in our hands anymore, so it’s a shame that we have to retire for this stupid reason.”


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:36.747 (9th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:35.954 (3rd)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:36.194 (6th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:34.935 (??)
S2: 1:34.276 (??)
S3: 1:35.518 (3rd)
Race Results: DNF, + 1 lap.

Australian GP: So so soooo close
March 29th, 2009
After some problems in first and second free practice, Sebastian showed a lot of talent in qualifying, staying only behind the BrawnGP cars in both Q2 and Q3. Starting from third, he overtook Rubens Barrichello right on the start, and kept second position during most of race. After last stint of tyres, his car's pace wasn't as good anymore, and Robert Kubica caught him with five laps to end, and one lap later, when overtaking him, they crashed. Sebastian tried to go til end even though and recieved a fine for driving with a tyre falling off his car and 10p in Malaysian GP Grid, because stewards considered he should've left the polish overtake him (?!).

"We were in second and a strong position, but then, a couple of laps from the end, I had a stupid racing accident with Robert (Kubica). At the time I turned in I was ahead, but I couldn't keep up speed in the corner and Robert was on a harder tyre, so was much quicker. At the time we collided he was in front, but I had no where to go, I couldn't stop the car, or turn to the right and my tyres were gone. It's a shame as it meant the end of the race for both of us. Should I have let him go? You always want to fight. Maybe I should have said let him go and bring third back home, but that's life. I tried to defend and, up to the mid-corner, I had reason, but then I had no grip to avoid a collision. I'm sorry to the team and also to Robert, as it didn't just mean the end of my race, but also his. The team did a good job, we were working very hard over the winter and the car seems to be very good. We had good pace today, so overall we have a reason to smile."


Results of this weekend:
First Free Practice Session: 1:32.784 (20th)
Second Free Practice Session: 1:26.740 (8th)
Third Free Practice Session: 1:27.009 (13th)

Qualifying Results:
S1: 1:25.938 (9th)
S2: 1:25.121 (3rd)
S3: 1:26.830 (3rd)
Race Results: DNF, 04 laps to end.

Thanks Roberto and Nikki for some races resumes.