Greater Noida: Sebastian Vettel’s stature and maturity as a Formula 1 driver has grown with each passing race and the German ace from Red Bull believes the secret of success lies in not “repeating his mistakes.”
The year he joined the Austrian team, he became the youngest driver to end runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship and the following year he became the youngest driver to become a world champion.
“Whether you have won the last championship or not, you have to start again and I have proved that I am good enough to do that. Still, we do make mistakes but more importantly, I do not do that twice,” the 25-year-old defending champion said ahead of the Indian Grand Prix.
“When I won the first championship, it was a big relief. That was a great feeling. But it’s not an advantage, if you have won the last race or the last championship.”
Now he is two-time defending champion this season and leading the drivers table with 215 points with four races left. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso is chasing Vettel closely as he is just six points behind him. In the team championship also, it’s Ferrari who are the closest with 290 points.
Vettel said much of this statistics is left behind when he is in the car.
“I am not a strong believer in this kind of numbers. We had our ups and downs and we have been able to improve. This is exactly what the other people are also trying to do, trying to improve the car.
“And I don’t think much when standing on the grid, waiting to see the lights go off. Yes, it’s in the head but important is to get off, start well and have a good race,” he said.
Talking about the Indian Grand Prix, Vettel made his intentions clear that he is looking for an encore.
“I have good memories, it was fantastic race last year. We got the pole and I won the race and that was special. Hopefully, we can have a similar result. We always try to do the best,” he said.
Vettel termed the current season as “crazy”. The season has been full of surprises as it threw seven different winners in the first seven races.
“I was one of them (the first seven winners). It took a while. It’s been crazy this year. It shows how small things can make a big difference. Williams (Pastor Maldonado) won a race this year and now have been away from doing that.
“Mercedes (Nico Rosberg) won a race and are struggling in the last couple of races. It’s difficult to explain for ourselves as to why the drivers who do well cannot do that again,” he said.
Vettel chose not to speak on the team orders, which are expected to be issued in his favour to enable him win the championship.
“We’ll see. We will cross the bridge when we are at that point. I don’t like talking such things. I want to stay focused, there’s a lot to be done.” (PTI)