Vettel wins drivers’ title for fourth year running

2013 Indian Grand Prix

27th October 2013, 11:0421st November 2014, 10:52 | Written by Keith Collantine

Sebastian Vettel has become the Formula One drivers’ champion for the fourth year in a row following his victory in the Indian Grand Prix.

He is only the third driver in Formula One history to win the title for four years running. The first was Juan Manuel Fangio, who became champion for the second time in 1954 then won the next three championships as well.

The other driver to win four in a row was Michael Schumacher, who took five of his seven championship victories consecutively between 2000 and 2004.

The 26-year-old Red Bull driver is the only person ever to win his first four championship titles consecutively.

Vettel said it was “unbelievable” to see his name alongside the sport’s all-time greats.

“I’m speechless,” he said on the podium after the race. “I crossed the line, I was empty. I took ages to think about something to say. It’s one of these moments you wish to say so many things but you can’t.”

Vettel said it had been a “phenomenal” season for the team. “I said it on the radio, it gives me so much power than it’s a pleasure to jump in the car and go out for the guys and just try to give it all I have.”

“The car was phenomenal today, It was phenomenal all season to be honest so I couldn’t ask for more.”

“The spirit in the team is fantastic,” he added. “The sort of numbers and statistics that we have done in the last four years is unbelievable.”

“I don’t feel old – I’m getting older but I think I’m not that old yet – but to achieve that in a short amount of time is very difficult to grasp. Maybe in ten years’ time, I’m trying very hard to come to the level I am now, maybe then I’m a little bit better in actually understanding what we have done so far.”

Team principal Christan Horner said: “For Sebastian to have joined the illustrious names of [Juan Manuel] Fangio, [Alain] Prost and [Michael] Schumacher is an incredible achievement, especially at such a young age and it’s a privilege to work with him.”

List of Formula One drivers’ champions

Rank	Driver	Championships
1	Michael Schumacher	7
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	5
=3	Alain Prost	4
=3	Sebastian Vettel	4
=5	Jack Brabham	3
=5	Jackie Stewart	3
=5	Niki Lauda	3
=5	Nelson Piquet	3
=5	Ayrton Senna	3
=10	Alberto Ascari	2
=10	Jim Clark	2
=10	Graham Hill	2
=10	Emerson Fittipaldi	2
=10	Mika Hakkinen	2
=10	Fernando Alonso	2
=16	Giuseppe Farina	1
=16	Mike Hawthorn	1
=16	Phil Hill	1
=16	John Surtees	1
=16	Denny Hulme	1
=16	Jochen Rindt	1
=16	James Hunt	1
=16	Mario Andretti	1
=16	Jody Scheckter	1
=16	Alan Jones	1
=16	Keke Rosberg	1
=16	Nigel Mansell	1
=16	Damon Hill	1
=16	Jacques Villeneuve	1
=16	Kimi Raikkonen	1
=16	Lewis Hamilton	1
=16	Jenson Button	1

2013 Indian Grand Prix

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Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
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169 comments on “Vettel wins drivers’ title for fourth year running”

hugomac (@hugomac)
27th October 2013, 7:57
Still won’t rate him until he’s in & winning in a non-newey car & controlling the team (& Webber) to his advantage, why do we all hate him so much. I’ll be the first to take my hat off to the guy if he can repeat his success in another team until then he could move & we find out he’s not that great & his 4 titles mean nothing….Riccardo will never be able to get anywhere next season, so sad. F1 just feels a bit rigged & corporate. Mateschitz wants a return on his considerable investment in F1 so Vettel gets the spoils….
OmarR-Pepper (@)
27th October 2013, 11:06
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
Kingshark (@kingshark)
27th October 2013, 11:07
On par with Prost. I don’t know what to say, I dislike him with a passion, but he’s been perfect this season.
1. Kingshark (@kingshark)
  27th October 2013, 11:12
  And on another note, today he has knocked Senna out of my top 5 greatest drivers of all time.
  Now it’s Schumacher – Fangio – Prost – Clark – Vettel (IMO).
  Coming from a big Alonso/Ferrari fan.
  1. MaroonJack (@maroonjack)
    27th October 2013, 12:27
    He earned a place in my top 5 too, so now it’s:
    1) Fangio, 2) Schumacher, 3) Senna, 4) Prost, 5) Vettel.
  2. David-A (@david-a)
    27th October 2013, 18:36
    I have him joint 6th: Schumacher, Clark, Prost, Senna, Fangio, Vettel & Lauda.
  3. Deana (@sammy)
    27th October 2013, 18:54
    I have him fifth too: Fangio-Schumacher– Prost – Senna– Vettel
2. Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
  27th October 2013, 14:53
  His racing more is Prost-style, imo. Although he qualifies as good a senna. But for me he is not in the top eight yet. If he gets a less-than-frontrow-car a couple of seasons, he’ll be inside my top eight. Now Vet is sort of 9-10th greatest.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
27th October 2013, 11:07
YES! Nice touch with the burnouts again! :D
1. zicasso (@zicasso)
  27th October 2013, 12:07
  Yeah, that was a superb touch. Finish with style.
GongTong (@gongtong)
27th October 2013, 11:08
Maybe it’s boring. But just like when Schumacher was in charge, I feel honoured to witness a legend at his peak.
Congratulations Seb! And thank you!
1. Shreyas Mohanty (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:51
  Yep, the car is legendary. Makes everything a bit too easy for Vettel the “legend”.
  1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    27th October 2013, 12:38
    @shreyasf1fan Webber is fifth in the championship in the same car with less than half Vettel’s score. Sure he’d have more if Vettel wasn’t there, but clearly it’s not all the car.
    1. Nick (@nick-uk)
      27th October 2013, 12:46
      @keithcollantine I was thinking about this today. Maybe it is clutching at straws, but could it be that Red Bull’s performance masks just how rubbish Webber actually is, and that Vettel is just an 8/10 driver? Until we see Vettel alongside another of the ‘big 3’ we just won’t know how good he is.
      Vettel is clearly one of the best. But I need to see what Lewis or Fernando could do in the same car as Vettel before I will accept Vettel is this God everyone says he is.
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 12:51
        @nick-uk What if the Ferrari is actually a great car, but Alonso and Massa are just that terrible?
        See? What you wrote made as little sense.
      2. Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
        27th October 2013, 13:10
        The problem is @nick-uk that you could just recycle the same argument for every driver. The good ones just stand out: like Alonso and Hamilton, Vettel is clearly just a step above average. Hülkenberg shows that on occasions too – they just look better.
      3. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 13:16
        @vettel1
        you could just recycle the same argument for every driver
        It would be an interesting experiment. What *great* teammate has Alonso proven himselft against? Only possible answer is Hamilton, who he tied in points.
        But what *great* teammate had Hamilton proven himself against at that point? What if both “are 8/10 drivers”?
        Next year we have ALO vs RAI, but what *great* teammate has Raikkonen proven himself against? Massa? Eh…
        See @nick-uk? That fell apart pretty quickly when thinking about it a bit ;-)
      4. Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
        27th October 2013, 13:20
        Exactly @silence – you could keep on recycling that until you came to ridiculous conclusions such as Schumacher was an average driver! It really does not work.
        Usually it becomes obvious in their first seasons if they are something special. Hamilton certainly did that, as did Vettel and Alonso.
      5. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 13:58
        @vettel1 Indeed, for example right now I have the feeling we’ll see great things from Grosjean and Hulkenberg.
        You know, I totally understand not liking Vettel (I myself am not Hamilton’s greatest fan), but this whole “let’s find the most obscure argument possible to discredit Vettel” is getting old.
      6. Jonathan189 (@jonathan189)
        27th October 2013, 16:11
        You’re right, it is clutching at straws. Webber is a competitive driver, and has proved this many times in many different teams. Red Bull wouldn’t have retained him for so long if they didn’t rate him more highly than the alternatives.
    2. sgp_f1fan
      28th October 2013, 5:51
      Keith, i dont believe Webbers 5 place in the standings reflects where he could have been sitting if not for alternators, fires, wheels coming off, gearbox. I think that covers them all.
      Its not quite so black and white as per your comment.
      1. JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
        28th October 2013, 9:13
        No suprise the “Webber has the worst luck” argument reappears again despite the fact that this myth one has been conclusively put to bed on this site already. Webber did have bad luck
        in this race
        , that can’t be denied, but once again he was on course to turn a superior strategy into an inferior result compared with his team-mate in the same car. One failure doesn’t explain the enormous deficit to his team-mate over the season.
  2. TheBass (@)
    27th October 2013, 12:46
    @shreyasf1fan Will you reply back this time, or will you just post something illogical and then run away as you always do?
  3. Oletros (@oletros)
    27th October 2013, 14:33
    Nice joke, because you’re joking, don’t you?
JCost (@jcost)
27th October 2013, 11:12
In the same weekend Ferrari entered equal on points with Sebastian Vettel (at 297), Fernando Alonso was sporting his loud commemorative F1 poins record helmet…
Congrats Seb.
1. TheBass (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:19
  Fernando Alonso was sporting his loud commemorative F1 poins record helmet…
  And he had his weakest race of the season. Kinda funny.
  1. Diego (@ironcito)
    27th October 2013, 11:32
    And he scored no points. As if a higher power had said “you celebrate your ridiculous record? no points for you!”
    1. mixwell (@mixwell)
      27th October 2013, 11:54
      this Friday, i was thinking, what if he scores 0 point this race ? lol
      would interesting to see which helmet he chooses for Abu Dhabi GP. am sick of that old bluey stuff but this one was worse.
      1. 4ttel
        27th October 2013, 12:38
        Than he can wear the same helmet again in Abu Dhabi :)
  2. Patrick (@paeschli)
    27th October 2013, 11:45
    @silence and jcost: Since he scored no points, he can use the same helmet at the next race :)
    1. kpcart
      27th October 2013, 15:28
      i hope you guys are just joking, otherwise you missed the point entirely with the helmet. any driver in the history of f1 would be happy with the feat, and not with these comments being posted here.
      1. verstappen (@verstappen)
        27th October 2013, 23:10
        Do you know where Alonso would be if the points system wasn’t changed?
        The joke is on the Samurai, **** yeah
      2. Hyoko
        28th October 2013, 0:04
        How dare Alonso celebrate such a shameful,despicable and fully undeserved record? He should repent and flagelate himself in public.
        Now that Webber and Massa are finishing their F1 careers (well, Massa could find a seat but I doubt it) I am sure that the fact that they will never reach the points record fills them with happiness and peace of mind. And the rookies are rightly wary of scoring any points this year (well Gutierrez in Japan was an accident) just in case they get that loathsome record in the future.
      3. Hyoko
        28th October 2013, 0:18
        @verstappen
        Yes, everybody knows that. Third in F1 history, very close to Prost (will surely be second a few races from now, say early in 2014 most likely) but yeah quite far from Schu. No mean achievement, IMO.
        If Vettel keeps winning like he has done these years he will top Alonso’s points somewhere in the future, maybe 2015. And even though I dislike him, I will congratulate him and utter no nonsense about it being worthless.
        And please don’t start again with it’s unfair to Fangio etc. Nobody ever said it is fair. There is really no fair way to compare drivers from such different eras. But if you want my opinion, Fangio was the best ever, head and shoulders above everybody else.
2. Malik (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:34
  He can use his helmet in Abu-Dhabi too :D
  1. iFelix (@ifelix)
    27th October 2013, 11:42
    :))
  2. Veldaar (@veldaarf1)
    27th October 2013, 11:46
    Yeah my thoughts exactly :D
  3. JCost (@jcost)
    28th October 2013, 6:15
    +1
3. F1 Noob (@noob)
  28th October 2013, 19:32
  @jcost Alonso needs to celebrate his highest points tally as much as he can, coz one German is coming to grab the record very fast
Tango (@tango)
27th October 2013, 11:13
Oh man, why oh why am I not a fan ? The guy is brilliant, and it’s a good time to be a red bull fan!
Merv (@)
27th October 2013, 11:13
I wish I could hear the dressing down he’s going to get from Rocky though! He sounded absolutely livid!
1. Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
  27th October 2013, 13:23
  @cyclonetog I love Rocky’s radio message at the end of the race: “Räikkönen pitted on the last lap so there is absolutely no way you’re going to hold on to fastest lap” – something along those lines, which I thought defined their relationship. They really are a great driver/engineer pairing!
  1. Merv (@)
    27th October 2013, 13:29
    did you catch the message before? Something along the lines of “we’ll talk about this afterwards”
    which I’m sure was Rocky not being happy that SV refused to cruise home.
    I think you’re right he’s the perfect engineer for SV, it’d be interesting to see how many DNF’s he would have had with a less tenacious engineer.
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
27th October 2013, 11:14
Hate him like the plague.
He has had the best car this year, miles ahead of the others, but he has extracted the best out of it. This is the first WDC I feel he has earn’t, he has driven very well this year. Good Job Vettel, excellent celebration as well :-)
1. Daniel Sch. (@donmsc)
  27th October 2013, 11:19
  Why on earth? So you’re saying he was like Button in 2009? Just winning because of the car?
  Haters gonna hate!
2. Chris (@tophercheese21)
  27th October 2013, 11:54
  I also dislike him on the race track. But I think last year was the one he really had to earn.
  This year was the best I’ve seen him drive. And he’s only 26. Athletes don’t hit their peak until about 28, so as long as Red Bull can produce a good car for the next few years, I think he’ll keep winning.
3. Nick (@nick-uk)
  27th October 2013, 11:54
  How can you say he ‘earned’ this one and not the others? This has been the title that has been most easily served on a platter. At least in 2011 McLaren had a car that could fight for wins quite often. 2013 has just been a joke, nobody even remotely close to Red Bull since Hungary. I find it even more abusrd that you think he didn’t earn his titles in 2010/12.
  1. Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
    27th October 2013, 12:05
    @nick-uk I have to agree with you: in Vettel’s hands this has been the best Red Bull ever since Belgium.
    1. S
      27th October 2013, 23:55
      The Vettel/RBR pairing in the second half of this season has been so dominant, they weren’t racing the rest, no one could hope to touch them. It was like a hare racing snails, like a boxing champ fighting little children. It felt unfair.
      Looked like He could win in his sleep. By Vettel’s (very high) standards, the racing in Japan or the qualifying in India were sloppy. He usually does a much better job. But why should he care, if with a half-hearted job he wins just the same?
      1. David BR2
        28th October 2013, 10:50
        Red Bull’s nearest contenders, Mercedes, gave up developing halfway through the season to concentrate on 2014. And that’s it basically.
4. mixwell (@mixwell)
  27th October 2013, 12:04
  2011 could be taken for granted but
  he had to work a lot more in 2010, had failures in 2012 (so did Alonso) , had to drive with a broken car in Brazil and started from pits in Abu Dhabi. in short – put a lot more effort.
  this year – phenomenal driving. drove absolutely brilliant the whole year so deserved it.
5. Breno (@austus)
  27th October 2013, 12:06
  FOUR championships and he hasnt eared them? Alonso breaks his front wing in two races, Raikkonen drops like a rock halfway through the season, Hamilton complains all year long and has hit or miss perfomances. And this is just this year.
  1. TheBass (@)
    27th October 2013, 12:13
    @austus Of course he hasn’t! It was the car! Only Alonso does what he does due to sheer talent, the car plays no part on it. Didn’t you know?
    1. Jonathan189 (@jonathan189)
      27th October 2013, 16:18
      Apparently this year’s Ferrari doesn’t even have an engine. Alonso has been pedalling it round all year.
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 16:27
        @jonathan189 This year? It’s been like that every year.
      2. djbasumatari
        28th October 2013, 17:27
        Hahahahahahaha.. That is why he was trying to buy that cycling team
  2. S
    27th October 2013, 23:20
    Malaysia: Alonso and Vettel touched in the first turn: Alonso’s race was soon over, Vettel went on unscathed.
    Japan: Hamilton and Vettel touched in the first turn: Hamilton’s race was soon over, Vettel went on unscathed.
    India: Alonso and Webber touched in the first turn: Alonso could go on but his race was ruined. Webber went on unscathed (got a DNF but not related AFAIK)
    Besides being the fastest by far, is the RBR the toughest? or was it just luck?
6. Carlitox (@carlitox)
  27th October 2013, 12:27
  I don’t hate him, I’m just not a fan but I do respect his quality and speed. And even though the RB9 is a masterpiece, Vettel deserves a lot of credit. At least until Newey develops an Auto-Pilot for the car. And if you want to question him, take a look back to 2009 and 2010, where he won races with a car not so much better than the rest.
  Vettel is one of the greats, face it. As a Tifoso, I had to do it with Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Alonso and now him. He deserves as much credit as the car and his team. No driver wins a title, the whole package wins it.
TheBass (@)
27th October 2013, 11:17
As deserved as any champion can be. There’s nothing left to say, Vettel was on a class of his own this season.
Even his celebration was superb.
1. Jono (@me262)
  27th October 2013, 12:04
  he is a class above because there arent enough red bulls to go around for everyone
  1. TheBass (@)
    27th October 2013, 12:18
    @me262 He’s also the only one who has been constantly great both on quali and race. Hamilton, Raikkonen and Alonso have done (more than one) weak races, qualifyings or mistakes through the season. Vettel has been virtually flawless. Just to put in perspective, Alonso has been outqualified 7 times by Massa. Let’s not mention where Webber is in the championship.
    Sure, he has had the best car, but he’s also driven the best.
    But you’ve already been told this before, so I’m not sure why you insist on that, it’s not something too difficult to understand.
    1. Jono (@me262)
      27th October 2013, 22:40
      @silence yeah I agree, he has been above everyone this year
      despite how sure you are about how good he is, you still dont know really how good he is until he steps out of that redbull, dont worry about webber, we’re not discussing webber or massa for that matter. We’re discussing the number 1’s vet v alo v ham v kimi. Time will put everyone in their place, thats my assurance…and you may be right…vettel may be the best. Dosent matter how many times he beats webber or ricciardo next year because that is not the test to end the speculation
      I dont want to rise to your level…but I will: what is so difficult to understand about that?
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 22:50
        @me262 Absolutely nothing, it’s pretty easy to understand that jealosuy, blind hate and poorly contructed arguments can cloud a person’s judgement hate, as they clearly have done to you :-)
    2. Jono (@me262)
      27th October 2013, 22:53
      all I ask for is ONE of his rivals to have machinery to be able to compete with him
      red bull has been untouchable since hungary. lets be honest: his 4th title was only a matter of time. The way that Seb has been able to sync with his car this year has been second to none. There’s also something up with red bull, in defence of webber much like Schumacher at Ferrari they have a clear number 1. (why did seb disobey team orders in malaysia? simple – its his team, he knows he can get away with anything..just ask uncle markoor any of the other austrian-germans :)
      Im no Hamilton fan but i’ll stick my neck out and say Hamilton would be more than a match for vettel in the same un biased team – any day
    3. Jono (@me262)
      27th October 2013, 22:56
      @silence reminds me of a quote: ‘the problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts while Vettels fans are full of confidence’ :)
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 23:00
        @me262 And you remind me of a 5-year old trying too hard to get everyone’s attention. Time to give it a rest, I think.
      2. Oletros (@oletros)
        28th October 2013, 6:10
        ‘the problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts while Vettels fans are full of confidence’
        A quote that really applies to you, you’re fully confident that he is and he won’t be one of the greatest
  2. Oletros (@oletros)
    27th October 2013, 12:50
    Still making those claims?
2. Jono (@me262)
  27th October 2013, 23:17
  @silence and what age would you put on someone trying to push off their opinions with a statement that questions the comprehension and reasoning of anyone in disagreeance with your theories? Is it too dificult to understand that people have a differing opinion to yours?
  1. TheBass (@)
    27th October 2013, 23:24
    @me262 Absolutely not. It’s difficult to understand how people repeat the same illogical things over and over even when their lack of logic has already been proven.
    The funniest part of this conversation is, that we’re arguing for nothing. I said Vettel was the best this season, which you agree with. The end.
    Then the whole talk about being full of confidence is completely uncalled for, I’ve never said Vettel is better than Raikkonen, Hamilton or Alonso, so you seem to be looking for a fight where there’s none. As I said, time to give it a rest.
    1. TheBass (@)
      27th October 2013, 23:31
      The “time to give it a rest” applies to me, too.
    2. Jono (@me262)
      27th October 2013, 23:49
      @silence said
      It’s difficult to understand how people repeat the same illogical things over and over even when their lack of logic has already been proven.
      if thats not confidence I dont know what is? lol but I see no rubber stamp on your opinion…yes yes I see your ‘logic’, there are many with the same infallible logic that you posses. Let me give you some insight on the ‘illogical things’ some illogical people like myself illogically think: statitistics do not give you the best driver at present OR the best driver in history
      in other words: in my ‘illogical’ book, schumacher is the most succesful driver ever. Dosent make him the best though. There are too many differentiating variables in F1 to declare one’s opinions and use of statistics as ‘facts’
      I tell you what if rbr/vettel win the championship again next year, with the regulation changes in store … they would have to go down as one of the most dominant in history?
      The funniest part of this conversation is, that we’re arguing for nothing. I said Vettel was the best this season, which you agree with. The end.
      as i said, I agree with it because of the impossibility of parity in F1. ‘Vettel has been the best this season’ – yeah, no sheet :)
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 23:54
        @me262
        statitistics do not give you the best driver at present OR the best driver in history
        Who has said the contrary? Again, arguing where’s nothing to argue.
    3. Jono (@me262)
      27th October 2013, 23:57
      @silence you did when you rubbished my opinion. whos arguing?
      1. TheBass (@)
        28th October 2013, 0:05
        @me262 Incorrect. I’ve never mentioned statistics, results, or anything as such. See? You don’t even know what you’re arguing about!
        Just so you know: it was about Vettel being on a class on his own this season due to his car only. Which is not true, it’s because he’s the only only one who has driven flawlessly and has outperformed his teammate both on quali and race.
        Aaaaaand that’s it. Nothing worth of this whole drama.
    4. Jono (@me262)
      28th October 2013, 0:15
      statistics and results are inherently related to vettels ‘class above anyone else’ why would you be mentioning it then ??????? because he hasnt won the last 6 races and won the championship a hundred and more points ahead with 17 races to go?
      yeah maybe just go back to sleep, dont worry about it. I’ll keep it light next time
      1. TheBass (@)
        28th October 2013, 0:24
        @me262 You really like mixing things, don’t you. I already summarized my point to make it clearer for you, I can’t really do any more than that.
iFelix (@ifelix)
27th October 2013, 11:18
On a different note, and I excuse for language in advance:
Lotus pit wall people have **** inside their head as brain. Even a goat could see that China of 2012 would be repeated for Kimi and they didn’t react even after the signs were as clear as possible.
iFelix (@ifelix)
27th October 2013, 11:19
And btw, since 2010 for the first time the winner of the race also won the championship!
1. Ivan (@wpinrui)
  27th October 2013, 12:06
  Yep, and both 2011 and 2012 (in Japan and Brazil respectively, where Vettel won the championship), Jenson Button was race winner!
  1. Pandaslap (@pandaslap)
    27th October 2013, 16:51
    @wpinrui Nice – save that one for stats and facts.
tmekt (@tmekt)
27th October 2013, 11:20
Congrats to Vettel! He has driven well all year and despite the race being a bit clumsy for him today I think he has fully deserved all his WDCs.
toiago (@toiago)
27th October 2013, 11:21
Well, he did it again. At first I didn’t like Vettel very much, but he really convinced me this season! He has been incredibly consistent, maximising the car, and with such perfection that he surely must be one of the all time greats. He has been the best for some time now, and that is just undeniable. Great job Sebastian, keep going!
HUHHII (@huhhii)
27th October 2013, 11:22
Congrats Seb! Once again well deserved WDC.
He surely knows how to please the crowd :)
Rigi (@rigi)
27th October 2013, 11:24
much deserved. congratulations.
Gray (@rgray)
27th October 2013, 11:26
2013 season has been complete and utter boredom. I love the sport but when one driver and team has pretty much clinched the championship early on it’s boring. When one driver dominates most of the races it’s total boredom.
All I saw of today’s race were the final laps. No need to go back and watch the rest. My hope is next year everyone struggles with new regulations and it’s a tight contest.
If Red Bull and Vettel continue to dominate the sport many may not bother to watch.
1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
  27th October 2013, 11:28
  @rgray
  Sad, but true :-)
  1. Gray (@rgray)
    27th October 2013, 11:40
    Congratulations to Red Bull and Vettle for winning the titles but I just wish it was a closer battle that went down to Brazil. I think Vettle is a great driver but some of his actions this year make him look immature and arrogant. Taking the win away from Webber in Mallaysia. Then for Vettle to say Webber didn’t deserve the win is completely unsportsmanlike.
    I’m waiting to see how he behaves when he has to struggle for wins or when he’s not winning.
    1. David Margono (@woshidavid95)
      27th October 2013, 11:56
      @rgray
      Perhaps what Vettel did at Sepang wasn’t right per se, but do remember that Vettel won 2 of his WDCs by less than the 7 point difference between 1st and 2nd. In addition, why should Vettel let Webber win? Webber himself could care less about helping Vettel, as evident from Silverstone 2011 and even worse, Interlagos 2012.
    2. Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
      27th October 2013, 12:01
      @rgray – I think that’s why so many people have trouble accepting him as a legend of the sport. Compared to other legends, he has never really had to demonstrate key skills like becoming the rallying point for s struggling team. Combined with the perception that the team always and unfairly side with him – however true or false that is happens to be beside the point; the fact that people believe it in the first place is the important part – mean that he’s going to struggle to be accepted.
      I noticed that Autosport’s lead story is an opinion piece called “Why Vettel is a true legend” (or similar). That, to me, is evidence that he is not a legend. Either you are a legend of the sport, or you are not. There shouldn’t be a need for an opinion piece justifying the position that you are. That they are being written at all demonstrates that Vettel has a long way to go.
      1. TheBass (@)
        27th October 2013, 20:29
        @prisoner-monkeys “Media experts write about why he is a legend, that’s the proof he’s not!”
        That’s as irrational as it gets.
        That piece, if you had read it, it was a response to the constant, mostly baseless criticism Vettel has got this season. Similar pieces, both in favor and against other great of the sport like Schumacher and Senna, were written in their time. It’s not a particularly smart argument.
      2. Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
        28th October 2013, 2:02
        @silence – If someone is a genuine legend of the sport, it shouldn’t be up for debate. You don’t see people debating about whether Schumacher, Senna, Prost or Fangio are legends. They just are. But Vettel, on the other hand, needs constant opinion pieces to justify his position as a legend. If those pieces are needed, then it stands to reason that there is a strong case against it. And if there is a strong case against it, then he’s clearly not accepted as a legend of the sport.
      3. Anele (@anele-mbethe)
        28th October 2013, 3:18
        so I guess redbull weren’t struggling when vettel beat them in the toro rosso?
      4. TheBass (@)
        28th October 2013, 10:59
        @prisoner-monkeys
        If someone is a genuine legend of the sport, it shouldn’t be up for debate. You don’t see people debating about whether Schumacher, Senna, Prost or Fangio are legends.
        I don’t see them now. But at their time, they had plenty of detractors, especially Senna and Schumacher.
        Everything has always been up to debate, and not only for them or in F1, it applies to any sport. You haven’t thought about this carefully enough.
2. Malik (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:36
  Come on the race was fantastic ! I really loved it not knowing who is going to finish in what position
  1. Gray (@rgray)
    27th October 2013, 11:41
    I haven’t seen the race, just saw the last few laps. I will watch it just to see great racing. :)
3. Nick (@nick-uk)
  27th October 2013, 11:59
  Conversely to you. I didn’t bother to watch the second half of the race. Once it seemed clear that alternate stratagies weren’t going to cut it, I just wasn’t interested so after lap 30odd I left it be. I get equal amounts of ‘enjoyment’ out of spending 10 seconds looking over the final results, as watching people fight for 2nd place (or even no place of significace whatsoever as the case often is), as I do from watching the whole race. So my thinking is, why waste 1 hour 30 mins to get the same amount of enjoyment I can get in 10 seconds.
  Probabaly won’t bother with the rest of the season.
  1. kpcart
    27th October 2013, 15:26
    you didn’t watch he second half of an f1 race, and missed out on a seriously impetuous moment in f1 history, the winning of a 4th championship in a row by a megastar, a seriously great 26 year old driver.
    you missed that, and then login to an f1 website to make a comment – I don’t get that. if you don’t bother with the rest of the season, I hope you wont waste our and your time writing comments here.
    1. Nick (@nick-uk)
      27th October 2013, 17:26
      I didn’t watch what I knew was going to happen, and that makes me a bad person? I don’t support Vettel or Red Bull, why should I be a slave to watching them win all the time – because I’m witnessing greatness? Maybe I just don’t care about Red Bull/Vettel greatness.
4. SpadSXIII
  27th October 2013, 12:08
  2013 season has been complete and utter boredom
  It wasn’t that bad in the beggining, looked like Lotus and Ferrari could compete al least. It has been a total reddull since Hungary, though.
5. TMF (@)
  27th October 2013, 15:24
  I don’t think it’s boring. I even get a kick out of seeing the Caterhams and Marussias fighting for 10th in the WCC. If it’s predictable then it’s not as good as it can be, but there are enough things going on during a race weekend and the race itself to enjoy it.
linnis (@ldawson)
27th October 2013, 11:26
Yes Vettel!!!!!!!! You deserved this WDC so much! :D:D:D
OmarR-Pepper (@)
27th October 2013, 11:29
As curiosity, is there a chance he gets a fine or grid penalty for his great celebration? As if it really mattered… Excellent to live to see history being written. Congratulations!!!!!!!!
1. TheBass (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:31
  There is a chance, of course. I doubt the FIA will persue it due to the obvious special circumstances, but the option is there.
  1. Diego (@ironcito)
    27th October 2013, 11:35
    Probably a reprimand, a fine or something symbolic like that. They would look pretty foolish penalizing him for that. Everyone loved it.
    1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
      27th October 2013, 11:38
      @ironcito
      This is the FIA remember, who knows what they will do next? :-)
2. George (@george)
  27th October 2013, 12:24
  I’m just wondering if he’ll get in trouble for throwing his gloves into the crowd, as he then had to get weighed. The extra fuel and tyres he burned off doing the doughnuts might make the car somewhat lighter too…
3. Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
  27th October 2013, 13:13
  I imagine they’ll give him a fine because they have to, really. Apart from that I doubt there will be anything more severe than maybe a reprimand.
  It’s a bit like the lift situation in Singapore: they don’t want to give penalties for things which entertain the viewers!
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
27th October 2013, 11:30
Bring on 2014.
1. TheBass (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:33
  Give it a rest already
  1. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
    27th October 2013, 11:36
    Why?
    @silence
    Just watched 4 years of Vettel wins, I can’t look forward to a year were someone else might win?
    1. TheBass (@)
      27th October 2013, 11:38
      Of course you can. You could stop whining about it though ;)
Arrrang (@arrrang)
27th October 2013, 11:30
They did it again… I have to admit that this time I have no doubts about who deserves the title. I might not like Vettel but he really nailed it with style. So congrats to Seb and RB!
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
27th October 2013, 11:31
Just brilliant from Vettel and Red Bull. Perfect in every respect. Utterly deserved, and great scenes of character and emotion from Seb just top it all off. You can see what it means to them.
Long may they reign.
1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
  27th October 2013, 11:56
  @mazdachris and today he finally mention how unfair the booing has been, and how great the Indian crowd behaved (and the did behave well)
DaveF1 (@davef1)
27th October 2013, 11:31
Congrats to Vettel, I don’t like him but you don’t become a 4 time world champion by accident or divine luck. He deserves it. Loved the celebration as well.
vamsi (@crazyformula1fan)
27th October 2013, 11:34
last year was fantastic…..2 drivers fighting for title till the end…….anyway contrats seb
iAltair (@)
27th October 2013, 11:39
Pitted on Lap 2. Went all the way to the back. Cleared 13 cars in 10 laps and proceed to lead the race, thus winning the WDC and WCC (For Redbull) and at the same time leading Ferrari in 2nd.
pH (@ph)
27th October 2013, 11:41
I think every F1 fan should feel privileged to witness this. Even if you do not like the guy and secretly wish some accident would happen to his finger (temporary paralysis, say, we would not wish for something permanent), forty years from now, when your grandchildren start comparing drivers and quoting stats, you can wait till they get to Vettel and say: I was there.
F1 is far from boring, to the contrary. Now the real suspense starts. How far can he take it? Five in a row? Will he be the first one to do six? It almost feels worth rooting for him just to see this happen. After all, unlike Schumacher, none of his titles has been tainted with cheating, wouldn’t he be a better person to top the charts?
But I do feel sorry for Hamilton and Alonso.
1. mixwell (@mixwell)
  27th October 2013, 11:56
  + 10000000000000……
Malik (@)
27th October 2013, 11:44
Vettel did some million overtakes in this race :)
1. toiago (@toiago)
  27th October 2013, 11:54
  He really blasted through the field, something the likes of Rosberg, Massa and Hamilton simply couldn’t.
  1. Nick (@nick-uk)
    27th October 2013, 12:19
    It’s quite easy to blast through the field when you are 0.5 seconds or more per lap faster than everyone else.
    1. TheBass (@)
      27th October 2013, 12:28
      @nick-uk Rosberg, Massa, Alonso and Hamilton couldn’t. Sure, the RB is the fastest car, but the Ferrari and Mercs are also faster than the rest, besides the Lotus.
      1. S
        27th October 2013, 23:34
        Yes, and guys like Ricciardo defended exactly as hard from Vettel as from Fernando
thetobs (@thetobs)
27th October 2013, 11:44
Congratulations to Vettel. He deserved the title and what better way to win the title than winning the race.
GeeMac (@geemac)
27th October 2013, 11:49
Congratulations to Sebastian, he drove a great race and has been mighty all season. A thoroughly well deserved victory in the race and the world championship.
Juzh (@juzh)
27th October 2013, 11:52
Epic rubber burning after the race and then kneeling in front of his RB9. Epic indeed. Screw fia and the their stupid rules.
Veldaar (@veldaarf1)
27th October 2013, 11:53
Congratulations to Sebastien IVettel and Red Bull for whipping ‘Car’ manufacturers like Ferrari (sad but true) and winning 4 championships on the trot. Well Done!
1. David not Coulthard (@)
  27th October 2013, 15:27
  @veldaarf1
  RBR sort of counts as Renault since Team Enstone stopped being Renault, I think….
  1. Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
    28th October 2013, 4:36
    And on top of that, their name is Infinity Red Bull. Infinity is a Nisan brand which in turn us owned (or controlled) by Renault.
andae23 (@andae23)
27th October 2013, 11:59
A four time world champion, incredible. Sebastian Vettel has had a fantastic season: faultless in pretty much every single race. For me, this is without any doubt his greatest championship year (to date).
I will say, I’m not a Vettel fan at all. I appreciate drivers who’s goal it is to gain respect from their fellow competitors, not drivers who race purely to win (same reason I appreciate Fangio, Moss and Clark more than Senna and Schumacher). But then again, apart from Malaysia, he has surely gained my respect this year. This year, Sebastian Vettel has made the leap from World Champion to F1’s greatest, in my opinion.
1. Nick (@npf1)
  27th October 2013, 12:12
  Pretty much with you on this one. Multi-21 was a hick-up, but as a Schumacher and Alonso fan, I hardly can hold that against the rest of his season.
  Even in 2012 Vettel sometimes acted a little out when things weren’t going his way, in 2011 he didn’t maximize as much as he does now and in 2010 he made a ton of mistakes on his way to the title. Still, you can’t deny his ability (though many try) and that he has been spot-on this season.
  Honestly, the way he celebrated, the donuts, throwing his gloves into the crowd has also really upped my respect for Vettel; he finally showed some proper emotions.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
27th October 2013, 12:07
Can we have more of those celebrations every race, please? Pretty please?
Ok, I don’t expect tears and drivers bowing to their cars every race, but they really should be allowed to take it to the track and interact directly with the crowd.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
27th October 2013, 12:16
Congratulations for the champion. I think this year there can be no doubt he deserved it. This season proved to be a real challenge for Vettel and Red Bull. They prevailed.
Deej92 (@deej92)
27th October 2013, 12:27
Congratulations to Vettel – one of the greats.
celeste (@celeste)
27th October 2013, 12:41
:D….
1. celeste (@celeste)
  27th October 2013, 12:42
  Congrats to Seb and RBR amazing job!!!
puneeth Bharath (@puneethvb)
27th October 2013, 13:02
Congratulations to Seb and RB .. It’s a great achievement..
HK (@me4me)
27th October 2013, 13:16
Looking at his rivals comments before the race said it all. Lauda, Hamilton and more, they all said there was no stopping Vettel today, and in the championship. And how right they were. Very deserved championships by Vettel and Red Bull.
kpcart
27th October 2013, 13:56
I loved the burnout at the end – I wish more f1 drivers did this. it was a great way to celebrate a championship – forget picking up marbles and saving fuel on cool down lap, he just let his emotions flow – he knew he can leave the car on the track… so many others left their car without even doing a cool down lap. so awesome to see an f1 car do a burnout, and even better to see the best driver in the best car do such a great doughnut burnout – that will stay in my mind for a long time. it is up their with Juan Montoya’s doughnut burnout on the streets on London in 2002 or 2003 – so great to see an f1 car doing such a manoeuvre – and a fitting way to capture a dominant championship win – he really “grasped” the championship with that burnout – it was very symbolic.
hugomac (@hugomac)
27th October 2013, 14:02
http://grandprix247.com/2013/10/26/hamilton-if-fernando-had-been-in-that-car-he-would-be-far-beyond-where-vettel-is/
Here TIS….
1. Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
  27th October 2013, 14:07
  @hugomac As mentioned in the round-up, there’s some doubt over those quotes:
  Hamilton allegedly tells AS Alonso would be ”far beyond” Vettel in same car
  1. Oletros (@oletros)
    27th October 2013, 14:27
    Funny thing is that for periodicals like AS Hamilton was even a worse evil, worst driver than Vettel and now is one of the better drivers in the padock
sasho (@ferrist)
27th October 2013, 14:28
Good for Vettel, not so good for Formula 1 , terrible for everyone who would like to see interesting races with a lot of battle from start to the race to the finish. He won the championship without any feel of pressure. His 3rd title was a present from Lotus’s drivers, his 4th from Adrian. Adrian I’m pretty sure , you’are a incredible.
1. David-A (@david-a)
  27th October 2013, 18:51
  @ferrist – That is nonsensical. You’re criticising him for winning the title too easily “without any feel of pressure”, then you dismiss his 3rd title, won with a determined drive from last with a damaged car as a gift from Lotus drivers?
sasho (@ferrist)
27th October 2013, 14:28
Good for Vettel, not so good for Formula 1 , terrible for everyone who would like to see interesting races with a lot of battle from start to the race to the finish. He won the championship without any feel of pressure. His 3rd title was a present from Lotus’s drivers, his 4th from Adrian. Adrian I’m pretty sure , you’are a incredible.
Kevin
27th October 2013, 14:31
Been a huge Seb fan ever since he won at Monza in a Minardi (Toro Rosso). Been a privilege to watch him all these years.
Remember, he is only 26. Of the other 4 time winners, only Schumacher has had only 1 WDC by age 26. Prost may not have even had a race win? Poles, podiums, and wins far, far more than any of the legends as well.
The NASCAR doughnut was fitting. More doughnuts in F1, no fines or reprimand if the winner does it.
Diceman (@diceman)
27th October 2013, 14:39
Congrats to Vettel, best season he has driven so far. Already 4-time champion, and he is only 26, so his best years may still be ahead. Imagine that :D
LAK (@lak)
27th October 2013, 14:48
An amazing achievement that no one can deny. Vettel is one of the greats no doubt! The fact that he’s very young maybe makes it difficult to see what a legend he is. I’m sure the next generation will look up to him just as we do to Senna, Prost, Stewart, Lauda, and the rest of the greats. Like Schumacher it’s an absolute honour to witness a champion race. When we grow up we’ll be able to say, yes I’ve seen Sebastian Vettel race live. I’m sure then all those who boo him now will feel stupid that they booed one of the greats. Congratulations #IVettel!! I just hope next year we won’t see #V(roman numeral)ettel lol and that someone challenges him and we see a closer fight for the title.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
27th October 2013, 14:52
I genuinely think this season has been Vettel’s most impressive title-winning season of the four: impeccably fast and consistent, got good points when necessary (e.g. Australia and Spain), good, clean starts even when not starting from pole (Bahrain, Germany Monaco are examples) and has made crucial, and even controversial overtakes to set the foundations for some of his wins (Bahrain, Germany & Malaysia of course), even today’s race can be a. Strategy seemed to have been against him today and in Suzuka, but still in both races, Vettel extracted the performance needed to turn things in his favour.
It may be slightly more dominant than his 2011 season statistically-speaking should be win the remaining three races, but unlike 2011 somewhat, it has been more of a complete demonstration of driving qualities from him.
aka_robyn
27th October 2013, 15:40
Vettel’s not bad, sure — but for me, until he shows he’s capable of winning championships by attaching a set of wheels to my toaster in lieu of a car and starting from the pit lane in every single race, I’m afraid I will rate him only an 8 or perhaps 8.5 out of 10. Time will tell!
But seriously. Here’s to four more (at the very minimum). :-)
svarun (@svarun)
27th October 2013, 16:03
Congrats to RedBull and Vettel.
But really waiting for to see the person who will stop this juggernaut of red bull,
anyone for a change will do,
from Alonso to van der garde..Anyone!!
Arrrang (@arrrang)
27th October 2013, 16:23
@keithcollantine sleeping about world champions- today Robert Kubica won the WRC2 drivers title. In his debut season he won in wrc2 category also scoring points in the wrc (5th and 7th if I’m not mistaken). His 5th place overal driving a wrc2 car is a standup result what makes him mech exF1 driver after Kimi to score WRC points.
1. Arrrang (@arrrang)
  27th October 2013, 16:24
  Obviously I meant *speeking*
Maeve (@maeve08)
27th October 2013, 16:24
Congrats Seb for winning the fourth consecutive Formula One World Title and the youngest to do so! And doing doughnuts to celebrate it is just the perfect way! And congratulations to Red Bull Racing for winning their Formula 1 constructors’ championship for the fourth consecutive year..
I’ve been closely following F1 for 2 seasons now though i was fascinated by the sports way back Schumi’s dominating era. I’ve watched the Singapore GP live last year and this year. The experience is really amazing. And I have been reading in this site almost everyday this season. thanks Keith and the rest of F1fanatic for the wonderful articles. the commenters here are really intelligent, from very technical F1 comments to physics and science. you guys are amazing! one of the best F1 site indeed!
dot_com (@dot_com)
27th October 2013, 16:57
Congrats, well deserved. It’s a great car :)
1. paul
  28th October 2013, 14:23
  Its a great team, and Vettel delivered in spades.
JVG
27th October 2013, 17:16
Congrats to Vettel and Red Bull, they did a fantastic job. But personaly I hope that next year someone else will win the championship.
Btw, found this funny footage where Raikkonen gets shouted at for not moving over fast enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTZSnqPp2NU
smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
27th October 2013, 19:02
Really great drive from Vettel, however…. was I the only one to see him using DRS on the main straight when the telemetry showed he was still 2.4 seconds behind…..
1. smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
  27th October 2013, 19:02
  PS check it out lap 18 I think
2. TMF (@)
  27th October 2013, 19:39
  @smudgersmith1 it was due to Pic. He passed him right after the detection line so he was allowed to use DRS on the main straight.
  1. smudgersmith1 (@smudgersmith1)
    27th October 2013, 19:52
    I will try to watch it, I didn’t see another car in sight, did Pic pit ?
    1. Eric (@)
      27th October 2013, 22:43
      @smudgersmith1
      Yes.
Anele (@anele-mbethe)
28th October 2013, 3:25
impressed instantly in a BMW, won a race in a torro rosso beating the senior team in the process, went to said senior team and became the last piece of the puzzle and delivered four world titles in the process. He’s a legend of the sport and has nothing to prove even if he retired tomorrow
Paul
28th October 2013, 8:36
Of course if there has to be a chance of winning the title, you have to have an excellent team, car and driver. Since when has that not been the case in this and any other sport for that matter ?
In F1 , In the end its the driver that brings it home. Well done Seb !
Ron (@rcorporon)
28th October 2013, 9:57
I’ve been a fan of Seb since he was driving in Torro Rosso… awesome to see him win all these years.
Can’t wait to see what the RB10 is like!
Drezone
28th October 2013, 11:03
Couldn’t help but think newey looked more like 4 time champion on the podium than vettel.
I’ll stick with what I’ve said before.
Vettel deserved 2011 and 2013 no doubt and was the best driver of those seasons. Everyone knows last year alonso was the best driver and deserved the title and vettel got lucky and 2010 was really webbers season as was best driver over the whole season but red bull didn’t want someone not part of the young drivers programme to spoil the party and stuffed up his end if season and almost gave the title to Ferrari and alonso on a plate but lucky for them they dropped the ball in the final and got lucky again.
Imagine if alonso won 2010 and 2012 then he would be 4 time champion and vettel two times or even webber winning 2010 would vettel have had the confidence to win four in a row. Paints a different picture I suppose.
1. David-A (@david-a)
  28th October 2013, 15:33
  2010 wasn’t Webber’s season, he and Alonso got lucky with car reliability to be as close to Vettel as they were.
  2012 wasn’t Alonso’s season, as he had a collision in Japan, only won 3 races, and lost the championship despite a huge lead, though he drove a great season.