Is Sebastian Vettel really the greatest ever?

Let's be honest, shall we? As much as I hate to admit it, I know that I have to come to the disconcerting “fact” that Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel might actually be the greatest Formula One driver of all time. I’ve come to this “enlightenment” because of the recent events that have taken place in the racing scenario.

Of the last six races, Vettel has won five with four of them being on the trot. A win in the next race (Japanese Grand Prix) would actually just roll the carpet for the German to be crowned the youngest ever quadruple world champion when the Indian Grand Prix takes place on October 27th. And how ironical it would be if India is “chosen” as the country where Vettel achieves this “dreaded” achievement.

For those of you who’re confused right now as to what blasphemous connection I’m trying to make between India and Vettel, don’t worry. I’ll explain. Remember a driver called Narain Karthikeyan? The person who was called the ‘fastest Indian in the world’? Well, believe it or not he actually got the opportunity to drive in Formula One for 3 years. Shocked? Don’t be. That’s what the world thinks you know. The world thinks that Indians aren’t capable of doing anything else except feeding cows and spreading corruption.

Being a little cynical, am I? Well not exactly. I’m pretty sure that Sebastian Vettel thought (and thinks) the same way about Indians as well. There was this incident involving him and Karthikeyan that was the onset of my hatred towards Vettel. Vettel called Karthikeyan an “idiot” and flicked him off on Live TV in front of the whole world just because the “Indian” did not let him pass through on a blue flag.

It was totally uncalled for. Vettel fans called it his “immaturity”. Others called the incident “heat of the moment”. Whatever! It really incepted this bad emotion within me regarding Vettel. So, that is why it would be really ironical if India gets to be the country where Vettel is crowned world champion for the fourth consecutive year.

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Anyway, coming back to the trepidatory fact that Vettel might actually be the greatest F1 driver in history, let’s look at a few specifics. Sebastian Vettel, the child prodigy as some called him when he was making his name in the Formula 3 World Series, has probably broken all the “young” records that there are to be broken.

He was the youngest driver to have taken part in an official practice session, the youngest to have scored championship points, the youngest to lead a race, the youngest to secure pole position, the youngest driver to set the fastest lap time during a race, the youngest to get a podium position, and of course the youngest to have won a race. And if that was not all, he’s the youngest single world champion. Scratch That. He’s the youngest double world champion. Oh Damn! Scratch that as well. He’s the youngest triple world champion in the history of the sport.

Those kinds of facts are really hard to argue and mess with. I mean come on. The man has broken almost every possible record there is in the books. And if he has not, then he definitely has his sights set on them. It is this intent to win at any cost by compromising one’s ethics and ideologies that makes Vettel who he is.

We all know the ignominy that happened between Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber at the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year. Which is why some freaks like me might hate Vettel’s guts, but that does not change the ugly truth – Sebastian Vettel gets the “W” when it matters the most.

Of the 115 race entries that Sebastian Vettel has in his career, he has won 34 races that takes his win percentage to 29.56%. When compared to the legendary Michael Schumacher’s 308 entries to 91 wins data, Vettel pips the German marvel because Schumi’s win percentage came to 29.55%. On the other hand, in the total poles won category, of 115 entries Vettel has 42 pole positions as compared to Schumi’s 308-68 data. That takes Vettel’s success percentage to 36.52% as compared to Schumi’s 22.08%.

However, there is a reason why Michael Schumacher is probably the only “legend” that Formula One will ever see. One of those is the stupendous record that Schumi holds where he has the most consecutive wins from the first race of a season. Schumi won the first 5 races of a new season in 2004 when he won from the Australian Grand Prix till the Spanish Grand Prix.

Schumi also comprehensively holds the astounding record of the most wins at the same Grand Prix. He has 8 wins at the French Grand Prix, 7 at the Canadian Grand Prix and the San Marino Grand Prix, and 6 at almost every other Grand Prix there is in the world. Hard to fight with those kind of records right?

But there was something that happened at the recently concluded Singapore Grand Prix that really blew my mind away. Something, which when looked into in detail, really brought forward the veracity of how talented and dominating Sebastian Vettel really is. Not only did the Red Bull driver win at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore, he did with a tinge of superiority - the magnitude of which was staggering.

Vettel led from start to end and the manner in which he kept gaining speed and increasing the gap between him and the “second best” was indeed breathtaking and was definitely something that even the great Schumacher never did. Vettel was 1.9 seconds clear after the first lap, 4.2 seconds clear after the second lap and by the time he reached lap 43 he was 30.6 seconds clear off the closest compatriot behind him.

Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix by over 32 seconds. Believe me, 32 seconds is like an eternity in Formula One. Not only is such a dictating performance highly uncommon; but considering the fact that it was done right after the safety car was withdrawn, on a circuit that has not been incident free since its inauguration, is truly commendable.

Vettel, at present, has 3 Formula One driver’s world championships to his name. It can, and probably will, be 4 by the end of this season. Schumi has 7 in total. Vettel is 26 years old right now and can easily get 3 more till the time he is 30. Not only that, Schumi has the record for the most consecutive Formula One driver’s world championship titles at 5. So, with the kind of predominating form that Vettel is in right now, the German has a very good possibility to break that record as well when he races next year and the year after that.

Vettel’s achievements speak for themselves. I’m no one to question his capability. His caliber and aura speak volumes when it comes to fighting his case of earning respect. He has the talent, he has the skill, and “best” of all he has the technology in Red Bull to help him achieve his dream of becoming the greatest of all time. The only question that remains though is…

Does he already think that he is?