Can Anybody Stop Sebastian Vettel?

By Sheldan Keay

Earlier today, Sebastian Vettel stormed his way to his 7th poll position of the 2011 F1 Grand Prix as he set a new record lap time around Valencia's street circuit in qualifying for tomorrow's European Grand Prix. The reigning champion has looked unstoppable this season, and it begs the question as to whether or not anybody can stop the German?

Since Michael Schumacher's 5 year reign as F1 world champion was ended by Fernando Alonso in 2005, the sport has seen 5 different world champions in that time, with Alonso winning twice, and Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and most recently Vettel all being crowned champion. This constant swapping of champions gave the impression that it may be a while until the Sport would see a driver with as much dominance as Schumacher, but funnily enough, it may be a fellow German who appears to have broken this trend.

Vettel burst on to the world stage after sealing his maiden F1 world championship on the final race of the year, after beating off competition from Alonso, team mate Mark Webber and Hamilton, who were all mathmatically eligible of becoming champion. Alonso was leading the championship on 246 points, while Vettel was third with 231 points. Vettel went on to win the race, while Alonso could only manage to finish seventh, which gave Vettel the championship by four points, as he finished on 256 overall points. Despite this close finish to the 2010 F1 season, this season has been anything but close.

Vettel has not finished out of the top 2 in any of the 7 races this season, winning 5 of them. He has already amassed a lead of 50 points over 2nd placed Jenson Button, and with another poll position under his belt, it is hard to see any fault in Vettel's game that would allow him to let this lead slip. During the Canadian Grand Prix, it was shown that when under pressure Vettel may let leads slip, as his mistake allowed Jenson Button to overtake him on the last lap on the way to his only win of the season. However, this was a rare occasion for Vettel, and it is unlikely that this action will be repeated by Vettel.

If Vettel is to go on to win the 2011 championship like he is expected, it would appear that Formula 1 would have uncovered a new star, and at just 23 years old, Vettel can look forward to a great career if he continues to produce the hard work and determination that has made his succesful thus far in his career. It would be fitting that it is another German who may be the one to dominate this Sport for the years ahead, following the success that was shown by a certain Michael Schumacher nearly a decade ago.

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