|
| Team |
Toro Rosso |
| Nationality |
German |
| Podiums |
0 |
| Points |
6 |
| Grand Prix entered |
8 |
| World Championships |
0 |
| Highest race finish |
4 |
| Highest grid position |
7 |
| Date of Birth |
03/07/1987 |
| Place of Birth |
Heppenheim |
|
 |
Sebastian Vettel is already Formula 1's youngest-ever points-scorer, and a good bet to emerge as Germany's new F1 hero post-Michael Schumacher.
The 20-year-old has shown abundant potential in his short-but-eventful eight race grand prix career.
Vettel began 2007 on the bench as BMW's F1 reserve, but was called up to race at Indianapolis after Robert Kubica's mammoth Montreal shunt sidelined the Pole.
He didn't waste the opportunity – flying in practice and recovering from a first corner error to finish eighth.
A month later, Vettel was back on the grid after Toro Rosso lost patience with Scott Speed.
Despite a middling start with the team, the German showed his true class with a pair of breathtaking wet weather drives in Japan and China.
The first came to a devastating end when he ploughed into Mark Webber (behind the safety car) while on course for a podium.
But he made up for it with a sublime drive to fourth at Shanghai a week later.
Now he has the chance to build on that momentum with his first full season for the improving Toro Rosso squad.
The early years Vettel had the unusual honour of being a protégé of two F1 teams while still in his teens, having been added to Red Bull's roster of rising stars before he started car racing.
BMW then also took him under its wing after he claimed an astonishing 18 wins from 20 races in the 2004 German Formula BMW Championship.
It may have been his second year in the series, but the statistics were undeniably impressive – especially as he finished in the podium in the two races he failed to win.
Vettel then graduated to the Formula 3 Euro Series, where he was racking up podium finishes by the middle of his rookie season.
That earned him a drive with champion team ASM – and title favourite status – for 2006.
But it didn't quite work out as planned, as Vettel narrowly lost the championship to team-mate Paul di Resta.
His packed racing diary was held responsible, for by mid-season he was also dabbling with the World Series by Renault and F1 testing.
Vettel was given a WSR run after another Red Bull protégé disappointed, and pulled off a double win on his debut, then nearly lost a finger in a massive accident in the following round at Spa.
He also became BMW's number three driver after Jacques Villeneuve's departure and Kubica's promotion, so participated in Friday practice at the final five GPs.
If this distracting whirlwind of a schedule cost Vettel the F3 title it mattered little, for his impressive performances in front of the F1 paddock were more important for his career.
His intention for 2007 was to claim the WSR title, but F1 intervened once again.
He had established a comfortable championship lead in the Renault series by mid-season, before being summoned by Toro Rosso.
Vettel was still classified fifth in the standings at the end of the WSR championship, but by that time he was already firmly established as an F1 star.
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