- 18 Nov 10, 20:50#226278Gray Matter: Is Vettel a worthy champion?
Sebastian Vettel did not lead the World Championship until he took the title in last weekend's final race - so is the Red Bull driver really a worthy champion?
Red Bull dominated for much of the year and, aside from two brief mid-season blips when first McLaren then Ferrari improved their pace, the team was easily the fastest out there.
On a single lap, Vettel was the master and the number of pole positions he achieved this season is perhaps his most impressive statistic. He started 10 of the 19 races from the front with team-mate Mark Webber the next best on half that number, while Fernando Alonso only managed two poles all year and final top-four finisher Lewis Hamilton just one.
Yet a driver and team that takes pole and fails to convert that into race victory has failed to do their job - and that is something that Vettel and Red Bull did time and time again this year.
The German took three poles in the first four races but failed to win any of them. In each case, however, he was let down by the team or his car - through engine issues, wheel failure and an incorrect strategy call. In fact, it was the one race in the first four in which he didn't start from pole that he actually won.
In the middle of the season, Vettel had a run of four consecutive poles - between Britain and Hungary - but again he converted just one of them into victory. This time his own mistakes let him down, with an over aggressive start in Britain ruining his race and a basic lapse of concentration behind the safety car getting him a drive-through penalty in Hungary. At his home race in Germany, meanwhile, a slow start saw him lose out to the two Ferraris.
Later in the season, however, Vettel did make it count on two of his three most vital pole positions, first winning in Japan then, after doing everything right in Korea only to be let down by engine failure, driving the perfect race in Abu Dhabi to win the title.
But this season was so close because nobody was perfect.
Each team or driver in contention was guilty of throwing points away - but Vettel suffered more because he had put himself in the position to win more often and failed to capitalise on the opportunities.
The spread of podium finishes ended up extremely even, with Vettel, Alonso and Webber all taking 10 top-three finishes from the 19 races (an average of 53 per cent). Last year, in comparison, champion Button only managed eight podiums from 17 races (47 per cent) while 2008 title winner Lewis Hamilton averaged just 55 per cent. These recent records are poor return compared to Kimi Raikkonen's 71 per cent in 2007 and Fernando Alonso's 78 and 79 per cent podium rate in 2006 and 2005.
The fact that Vettel and Alonso both achieved exactly the same number of first, second and third places is testament to how tight the title points battle actually was - yet more detailed statistics again reveal how Vettel was in a class of his own but missed the opportunities.
Vettel, Alonso, Webber and Hamilton all spent 88 per cent of the season's racing laps in the points, with Button a little down on 84 per cent, but in terms of time spent racing in the podium positions Vettel was again well ahead of the rest.
The title-winning German spent 70 per cent of the year's racing laps in the top three with Webber next best on 55 per cent. Alonso, in comparison, was only in the top three for 48 per cent of the season yet came home with the same number of podium finishes as each Red Bull driver. McLaren, however, were well off the target with Hamilton on 44 per cent and Button on 27 per cent.
Again, in terms of leading races, Vettel was ahead with 382 laps spent at the front of the field. Webber was just behind on 317 laps while Alonso managed only 126 - fewer, in fact than Jenson Button, who spent 145 laps in the lead. Hamilton led for just 100 laps this year.
In the end, it's points that count and Vettel took the title by just four - the equivalent of a single eighth-place finish. But in terms of race statistics Vettel was by far the most worthy man to lift the 2010 crown, even though he should have picked it up well before his victory in Abu Dhabi.
And it just shows that if he gets things right next season, he could be racing into the distance...
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I know that this article is not a comparo between Vettel and Shumi but I don't think it deserves its own thread.
Very interesting stats about Vettel. I highlighted one sentence in the article about Alonso. He was racing in a lesser car than Vettel but managed the same number of podium wins.
Youngest Double World Champion Ever
21st member of the Grand Slam Club
Twice is definitely better than once because 2 times in heaven is better than 1
!
Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point. 
, they are grown men and if they do not act as such the team will step in.