German Sebastian Vettel has dismissed comparisons with Michael Schumacher after becoming the youngest winner in Formula One history in Monza on Sunday.
"About this comparison, you have to realise what he achieved in the past," The Toro Rosso driver, 21, said of the seven-times world champion.
"I'm very young and at an early stage of my career, so I don't think there's any need to make a comparison.
"Fernando (Alonso) is the closest as he's a two-time world champion."
Vettel, who also also clinched his maiden pole on Saturday, earned the praise of Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger who believes he has the potential to enjoy a successful career.
Nicknamed 'Baby-Schumi' and a close friend of the Formula One legend, Vettel will switch to sister team Red Bull Racing for next season as replacement for the retiring David Coulthard.
"Michael is probably one of the best drivers we have ever seen, and in a way I'm proud because I know him," explained Vettel.
"He's a very nice guy and completely down to earth."
Vettel insists he will be fully focused for the rest of the season, despite the publicity surrounding his win at Monza.
"I won't go to Singapore and feel like a hero or a superstar and expect another race win just like that.
"It's not going to be like that because where I come from and how I grew up.
"I am down to earth enough to realise what happened, and to understand the approach for the next races," he added.
"People can at least see we do have a strong package, so towards the end of the season I hope we can score some more points.
"Just to get into the top 10 in qualifying will still be a big success for us."
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Vettel rejects Schumi comparisons
Berger Tips Vettel
Italian GP winner Sebastian Vettel will go on to win multiple drivers' world championships, says his team owner and ex-Formula One driver Gerhard Berger.
The German, 21, became the youngest winner in F1 history with a composed drive in wet conditions at Monza.
"He's bloody good," said Berger, winner of 10 Grands Prix. "As he proved today, he can win races, but he's going to win world championships. He's a cool guy."
Vettel said: "It feels just great. It's difficult to put into words."
The Toro Rosso driver, who has been dubbed "Baby Schumi" by the German media, was also praised by world championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
"He's been fantastic all weekend," Hamilton said. "He's been getting stronger all year.
"Having won today, it shows how good he is. It's great for him. It was easier for him without all the spray, but the pressure not to make a mistake was just the same, so congratulations to him."
The first person to congratulate Vettel was double world champion Fernando Alonso, who he replaced as the youngest winner.
Vettel is 73 days younger than the Spaniard was when he won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix in a Renault.
"For me, re-writing history or statistics is not that important," Vettel said. "It's maybe nice when you are older. The most important thing is winning the race.
"It's difficult to describe," he added. "Being up there on the podium, seeing the crowd, my team, my family cheering, with tears in their eyes - this picture I will never forget.
"Being here in Monza listening to my national anthem and the Italian national anthem. Winning here for an Italian team is probably the best thing that can happen to you as a driver."
Vettel is a popular, talkative character with a strong sense of humour which, unlike many F1 drivers, he is not afraid to employ in his dealings with the media.
A fan of Monty Python and the Beatles, he put in an impressively mature performance that won widespread praise within F1.
But Alonso, who finished fourth in Monza, cautioned against expecting him to be able to continue his winning form.
"We need to wait and see," Alonso said. "We don't need to put pressure on him.
"He is young and we will see his talent in the next coming years. He needs to keep his focus on races."
Alonso also went on to congratulate the Toro Rosso team on their first win - the Spaniard made his Grand Prix debut for them in their previous incarnation as Minardi in 2001.
"I'm happy for him [Vettel] and also for Toro Rosso," Alonso said, "because I raced with Minardi and I know everybody there and they deserve it. It's a perfect weekend."
Red Bull bought Minardi prior to the 2006 season and turned them into their junior team and Vettel is to switch to the senior team next year as partner to Australian Mark Webber.
The team was founded by Italian Giancarlo Minardi in 1985 and their history has been one of struggling against the odds.
everyone today feels very special and can feel very special. I am one of them. We are a big team and I feel extremely happy
Sebastian Vettel
Minardi became famous for giving future front-running drivers such as Alonso their first drive in F1, while Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella are other former winners who started their career there.
But they spent most of their time in F1 at the back of the grid and struggling for money and there have been several moments when they looked poised to go out of business.
Red Bull bought them to use as a junior team in 2006 but until this year they had continued to founder at the back, despite using cars supplied by their parent team.
This year Berger has made significant changes to the outfit, notably bringing in former McLaren and Ferrari engineer Giorgio Ascanelli as sporting director to work with team principal Franz Tost.
Even allowing for the fact that they do not have to build or design their own cars, their 160-strong staff is tiny in F1 terms and the three men have won great admiration in the paddock for the way they have turned the team around.
"It was difficult last year," said Vettel, who joined the team in the middle of 2007 after they sacked the American Scott Speed.
"I did my debut for BMW Sauber and thanks to Franz Tost, Gerhard Berger and all the team and Red Bull. They gave me the trust and said we have a seat for you, take it.
"From where we started last year the team, the mentality has changed so much.
"Compared to BMW or McLaren-Mercedes or Ferrari we haven't that amount on manpower at home in the factory.
What they've done this year is shape it into a proper racing team combined with two good drivers
Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey
"Obviously we get a lot of help from Red Bull Technology but still we have about 160 people working [in the factory in Faenza] and everyone today feels very special and can feel very special. I am one of them. We are a big team and I feel extremely happy."
Red Bull chief technology officer Adrian Newey, who leads the design on the car the two teams use, told BBC Sport: "Last year, the team was very much Minardi and I don't think either [Vitantonio] Liuzzi or Speed did a fantastic job.
"What they've done this year is shape it into a proper racing team combined with two good drivers. Toro Rosso have done a very good job of operating as a racing team."
Newey, regarded as probably the finest racing car designer in the world, left McLaren at the end of 2005 to join Red Bull.
And despite some encouraging performances from Toro Rosso in recent races, Newey said the victory, which was also the first for Red Bull, came as a surprise.
"It's a real shock," he said. "I didn't think we could win a race this year - not from the front, anyway.
"The weather played into our hands - the car is extremely good in the wet. If it had been a dry race we couldn't have won but the car's competitive in the wet and Sebastian did a fantastic job - he has looked extremely good all weekend.
"It's fantastic - in terms of financial budget we're a lot smaller than the big teams so to put in a win against teams with those resources is great.
"And of course we don't have the same infrastructure as them, either. So we have had to work hard to get that up to scratch. That takes some effort away from the resources as well."
Italian Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel took his and the Toro Rosso team's maiden win in a thrilling Italian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton came from 15th to finish seventh.
The German led from pole throughout a demanding race of changing conditions to finish ahead of Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen.
Vettel, 21, takes over from Fernando Alonso as F1's youngest-ever winner.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa reduced Hamilton's championship lead to one point by finishing sixth.
Robert Kubica of BMW climbed from 11th to third by making the most of a one-stop strategy in a race that started on a soaking track in persistent rain and then began to dry up from about half distance.
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The drying track and mixed-up grid led to a fascinating and unpredictable race of varying strategies.
Hamilton impressed hugely in his charge through the field, but Vettel was equally deserving of plaudits for a cool and controlled drive.
Spain's double world champion Alonso, who finished fourth after a strong race in his Renault, was the first to congratulate him after the race.
The German's victory was also the best result by far for the former Minardi team, which was taken over by Red Bull and made its junior outfit in 2006.
They have emerged as a major force in the second half of this season, using cars provided by Red Bull but fitted with a Ferrari engine rather than the Renault used by their parent team.
Who might have thought about this at the beginning of the season? We had a poor start and we got better and better - I am speechless
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel left Kovalainen behind in the early stages of the race, establishing a lead of more than 10 seconds before he made his first stop on lap 18.
He controlled the race from there, changing to intermediate tyres at his second stop on lap 36 as the track dried out and continuing to drive with pace and aplomb to the finish.
"Unbelievable," he said. "The whole race we had no problems. The car was working fine. It was a fantastic race, a very good strategy but all that was gone when I crossed the finish line.
"The lap back to the pits and the whole podium ceremony was just unbelievable. For sure it is the best day of my life. These pictures, the emotions, I will never forget.
"Who might have thought about this at the beginning of the season? We had a poor start and we got better and better, I am speechless."
Kovalainen drove a steady race behind him, while Kubica was able to use a very long first stint to fit intermediate tyres at his sole stop on lap 34 and move into third place.
"It was not possible to win because Sebastian and Toro Rosso were so strong," said Kovalainen. "I just struggled to find time, go faster - we kept pushing and towards the end we improved, but there was nothing I could do, it was impossible to win."
Kubica, meanwhile, was happy with his finish, admitting: "It was quite good after what happened in qualifying.
"I stayed as long as possible until my pit stop, and we were a bit lucky with the conditions that they allowed me to switch to the intermediate tyres.
z
"Third place was a well deserved reward for the whole team and I am very happy."
Alonso used the same strategy as the Pole in his Renault, stopping four laps earlier when he was the third significant driver to switch to the different tyres - two laps after Red Bull's David Coulthard and a lap after BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.
The German went on to finish fifth, ahead of Massa, Hamilton and Red Bull's Mark Webber.
Hamilton looked on course for an unlikely podium as he carved his way up from 15th on the grid to lie second behind Vettel by the time of what was planned to be his sole pit stop on lap 27.
The track was beginning to dry up at that stage - it was only three laps before Alonso made his call for intermediates. But Hamilton decided not to gamble on them and although he was fuelled to the end, he had to come back in on lap 36 to fit change tyres.
It was probably the right call. Alonso told BBC Sport later that it might have been possible to change to intermediates "one or two laps earlier - maybe".
And Hamilton, after closing quickly on Massa in the laps immediately after his stop, then began to drop back after experiencing "graining", when the surface of the tyre rips up, reducing grip.
The problem meant that in the closing laps Hamilton had to worry more about fending off a challenge from Webber than about trying to wrest sixth place from Massa.
Webber finished in the final points place in eighth place, ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn started one place ahead of Hamilton on the grid but was far less convincing in battling up through the field.
He is now 21 points behind Hamilton and effectively out of the title chase with four races remaining.
Result after 53 laps:
1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 hr 26:47.494 sec
2. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 12.512 behind
3. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 20.471
4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 23.903
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 27.748
6. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 28.816
7. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 29.912
8. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull-Renault 32.048
9. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 39.468
10. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault 54.445
11. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 58.888
12. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-Toyota 1:02.015
13. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:05.954
14. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 1:08.635
15. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:13.370
16. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull-Renault 1 lap
17. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 1 lap
18. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap
19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India-Ferrari 2 laps
Retired:
Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India-Ferrari 42 laps
