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When Sebastian Vettel made his F1 debut on the Friday of the Turkish Grand Prix - assuming the role of 'third driver' from Robert Kubica, who in turn had been promoted to a full race seat following the 'departure' of Jacques Villeneuve - there were widespread shouts, not merely among race fans but within the F1 paddock, of "who?"
However, later that day, having posted the fastest time of the day, the sport appeared to have found the latest sensation.
All in all, it was a historic day for the young German, for not only had he edged out Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, he had, at 19 years and 53 days, become the youngest driver to take part in a Grand Prix weekend. On the other hand, he became the youngest to receive a fine in an F1 car (speeding in the pitlane), incurring the fine just 9 seconds into his F1 career.
Sebastian's racing career began in 1995 when he took part in his first Kart race, in Walldorf, just a short while later he celebrated his first win, taking victory at Wittgenborn.
He continued in Karting for the next eight years, enjoying success both in his native Germany, and throughout Europe, winning the European Junior Kart Championship, the German Junior Kart Championship, in addition to victories in the Monaco Junior Kart Cup and Paris-Bercy.
He was also a regular at a certain Kart track in Kerpen, where he got to meet up with his hero - F1 legend, Michael; Schumacher.
Along the way, Sebastian had been spotted by Red Bull, and from 1998 has been part of the Austrian company's ambitious 'Driver Programme'.
Sebastian finally made the switch to single-seaters in 2003, entering the Formula BMW ADAC Championship. Finishing runner-up, he was also named 'Rookie of the Year'.
He remained in Formula BMW in 2004, and totally dominated the series, taking 18 wins (from 20 races), 15 pole positions and 16 fastest race laps. A new German star was born.
For 2005 he switched to the Formula 3 Euroseries, taking the 'rookie' title, courtesy of 6 podium places.
In September 2005, Sebastian received his reward for the 2004 Formula BMW title, a test with the BMW WilliamsF1 Team at Jerez.
In 2006, the youngster remained with the F3 Euroseries, also taking part in a number of rounds of the World Series by Renault.
An accident at Misano in the World Series by Renault almost saw him lose a finger, but he was back in the cockpit a week later, finishing sixth in the Ultimate Masters of F3 at Zandvoort.
Once he had been drafted into the BMW team to replace Kubica, Sebastian's world went crazy. In addition to his duties as an F1 test and reserve driver, there was also the little matter of the Euro Series.
Unfortunately, despite continuing to impress in the F1 car - certainly enough to secure the role of test driver for BMW in 2007 - the German youngster missed out on the F3 title, losing out to Scotland's Paul di Resta by 11 points.
For 2007, Sebastian was retained by BMW as test driver, while also continuing in the World Series by Renault with Carlin.
The new test limits meant that Vettel was unlikely to get mileage in the BMW during the season, however, the German team originally insisted that unlike its rivals it would run its test driver in the Friday practice sessions at Grands Prix. Unfortunately for Sebastian, it wasn't long before the team fell into line with its rivals.
However, Lady Luck had a trick up her sleeve. When Robert Kubica crashed heavily in Canada, Sebastian was drafted in for the following week's race at Indianapolis. Even though the Pole insisted he was fully recovered from his Montreal crash, the FIA was taking no chances.
Sebastian gave a mature performance on his F1 debut, qualifying seventh - two spots behind his highly experienced teammate - and bringing the car home in seventh. The youngster gave a good account of himself, and it was only the experience of his rivals, who were able to keep him at bay at the Brickyard, a track not known for its overtaking opportunities, that prevented him from finishing higher. As it was, Sebastian had made history by becoming the youngest driver to score a Formula One World Championship point. At 19 years 349 days, he had broken the record established by Jenson Button in 2000 when the Englishman, aged 20 years 67 days, finished sixth in Brazil.
With Kubica back on duty in France it looked as though Sebastian would have to make do with his 15 minutes of F1 fame and return to the World Series by Renault. However, a few weeks later he was back in an F1 car, this time with Toro Rosso.
Disappointed with Scott Speed's lack of progress, Red Bull called time on Vettel's deal with BMW, the Austrian company pointing to the fact that the youngster had a long-term contract with. On 31 July, BMW, realising that the Red Bull contract was watertight, released the youngster, who was back on the F1 grid in time for his home race at the Nurburgring.
After his sensational debut with BMW, it was back to reality for Sebastian as he had to deal with life at the other end of the grid. Initially, it was clear that teammate Tonio Liuzzi had the better of him, but little by little Sebastian came into his own.
In Japan, Sebastian made another little bit of F1 history. In the atrocious conditions he worked his way up into the lead, thereby, at 20 years 89 days, becoming the youngest driver ever to lead a World Championship Grand Prix. However, the race was to end in tears (literally) when he was adjudged to have crashed into Mark Webber in a bizarre incident behind the safety car.
The Australian, never one to hold back, said of the incident: "It's kids isn't it, kids with not enough experience. They do a good job and then they f*** it all up." Race officials agreed, and consequently, Sebastian was told that due to his careless driving he would forfeit ten grid places at the next race, China. The kid was inconsolable, and few of us will forget the sight of the distraught youngster in the Fuji gloom.
However, by the time the 'circus' arrived in China a week later, a video shot by a race fans in the stands in Japan had appeared on Youtube. It appeared to show that Lewis Hamilton was responsible for the incident, and consequently the German's grid penalty was removed. As if in celebration of the fact, Sebastian gave the performance of his life, bringing the Toro Rosso home in fourth to give the team its best ever result. It was a magnificent drive, and after the tears of Fuji, at Shanghai Sebastian was grinning from ear to ear.
In 2008, the youngster was joined by four-time Champ Car Champion Sebastien Bourdais, and it 's fair to say that the German totally dominated his French teammate in terms of qualifying, race results and just about everything else. That said, it would be fair to say that Sebastian is clearly capable of giving everyone a run for their money.
Looking at the stats however, the German's season didn't get off to the best of starts. After four races he had completed just 39 laps, crashing in Australia and Spain, suffering accident damage in Bahrain and an engine failure in Malaysia. Sebastian was the innocent victim in all three accidents, but that would not have helped his self confidence.
In Turkey he finally made it to the chequered flag, while in Monaco he scored his first points of the season, bringing his car home in fifth.
Turkey was the turning point in Sebastian's season for it was the first race at which he had the new STR3 - better known as the Red Bull RB4.
The new car was clearly better than its predecessor and it wasn't long before the German, with the aid of his Ferrari powerplant and his own supreme skills, was putting the works Red Bull drivers, and pretty much everyone else, to shame.
There were further points in Valencia and Belgium, but then came Monza, the race in which the German youngster made F1 history. Having taken a superb pole, Sebastian, in equally atrocious conditions, kept a cool head and scored an emotional victory that even the Tifosi couldn't begrudge.
It was a performance that rightly won him plaudits from his peers, including Hamilton and Alonso, though when the German media referred to him as "Baby Schumi", Sebastian would have none of it.
"To compare me with Michael Schumacher is ridiculous," he said, "it would be difficult in normal conditions for us to repeat this achievement."
Nonetheless, the win at Monza meant the German was now the 'youngest GP winner' and 'youngest GP pole position winner', these records to be added to his title as 'youngest driver to score a point in an F1 GP', 'youngest driver to lead an F1 GP' and 'youngest driver to finish in a podium position in an F1 GP'.
Two weeks later he finished fifth in Singapore followed by a sixth in Japan.
There was another bravura performance in Brazil, a performance which might well have left him highly unpopular in Britain.
In the changeable weather conditions that marked the final laps of the race, the German was involved in a fierce fight with Lewis Hamilton. While it was just another four or five points to the Toro Rosso driver the World Championship title was at stake for Lewis.
In true Schumacher style, Vettel wasn't taking prisoners, his job was to get the best result possible for his team, and that is precisely what he did, taking fourth place from the McLaren driver and, seemingly, the title.
As history shows, in the end it was another German, Timo Glock, who decided the championship outcome, therefore the British retain a soft spot for 'Baby Schumi'.
For 2010, Sebastian moved from Toro Rosso to its big sister, Red Bull, where he would partner Australian veteran Mark Webber, a man who had previously described the youngster as a "kid".
Having already impressed in 2007 and 2008 - his first full season - we were all waiting to see what progress Sebastian would make in 2009, especially at the wheel of Adrian Newey car running to the new regulations.
Qualifying third in Australia, Sebastian was looking good for a strong finish until a clash with Kubica ended in disaster, in every sense, just a couple of laps from the end. While Robert accepted that his race was over, Sebastian - with some advice from his crew - took advantage of the Safety Car situation and returned to the track to finish the race, albeit on three-wheels.
Nice try. However, while his team was handed a fine for giving the order, Sebastian was handed a ten-place grid demotion for the next race, the Malaysia GP.
One of a number of drivers to fall foul of the treacherous conditions at Sepang, Sebastian and his team took full advantage of Brawn's lack of wet weather testing to score a historic 1-2 in China, the Austrian outfit's first victory. It was a superb performance from the German youngster, and clear proof that the epic win in Monza in 2008, in similar conditions, was no fluke.
By mid-season, as the Brawn began losing its advantage and Newey and his team were getting to grips with the (now legal) double diffuser, Sebastian came into his own. A fine win at Silverstone was followed by another 1-2 in Germany, however, this time it was teammate Webber who stood atop the podium.
It wasn't all plain sailing however, for poor reliability was to cost the team dearly, particularly in terms of engines. By the time of the Belgian GP Sebastian had used up his allocation of engines leading his team to 'mix and match' for the rest of the season. It also meant limited running during the free practice sessions.
A year after winning at Monza the young German struggled to score a point, while in Singapore he was given a drive-through for speeding in the pitlane and subsequently damaged his diffuser when hitting a kerb.
A win in Japan - his first race at Suzuka - meant he went into the final two rounds with a mathematical chance of winning the title, however in Brazil, as in 2008, an Englishman secured it with a strong drive to fifth.
The German wrapped up a magnificent season with another convincing win, this time on the dark streets of Abu Dhabi. In doing so he secured runner-up position in the championship just 11 points shy of Jenson Button.
While a joy to watch on track Sebastian is also a very nice guy away from it, never taking himself too seriously and (seemingly) always smiling.
However, there a couple of times during 2009 when the smile slipped, just for a short while, revealing that beneath the schoolboy grin there is a hardened professional who is there for one sole reason, to win.
Having taken such a major step forward in 2009 it will be interesting to see how Sebastian develops in 2010, and the fact that he will get to compete against Michael Schumacher will surely be the icing on the cake, for him and us.
Statistics - at the end of 2009 Season
Drivers' Titles: 0
Seasons in F1: 3
Grand Prix: 42
Wins: 5
Points: 125
Poles: 5
Fastest Laps: 3
Best result in 2009: 1st (4 times)
Best qualifying 2009: Pole (4 times)
Worst qualifying 2009: 16th (Brazil)
2009: Out-qualified Mark Webber 15 times
2009: Out-qualified by Mark Webber 2 times
2009: Completed 847 out of 988 laps (85.7%)
2009: Finished 14 times from 17 starts (82%)
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