Is Sebastian Vettel wasted on Red Bull?

We all know that career planning and the choices a driver and his management make are always critical to success or failure in Formula One. The general view in the paddock is that Sebastian has got what it takes. Bernie remarked recently that the young German Toro Rosso pilot had the talent "to get the job done". He is fast, he is very impressive out of the car - level-headed, mature beyond his years.

So next year he takes the step "up" to Red Bull, but where is this going to get him and is it the right move? Perhaps it is the only move he can make. However, surely the top teams must have considered him or are considering him.

Maybe Red Bull will suddenly leap ahead next year. It doesn't feel that way - just now they are blaming tyre issues for their current woes. I fear Sebastian could end up wasting a lot of his time and talent with a team which has yet to convince the wider world that it is ever going to be anything more than a mid-field battler...   

Comments

[IDR]

Sebastian Vettel is one of the most promising drivers of the current grid, and I think should be a wasted time to see him in Red Bull next year.

He has shown the potencial and it's time to deliver.

IMHO, I think BMW should be the appropiate next step for him. Maybe one could think that BMW needs more experience. But sometimes, one have to take some risks to achieve his goals.

But I'm not Mario Theyssen... neither Cristian Horner

[Alastair]

He should have replaced Nick at BMW

[Tim]

Vettel has only just turned 21 and his F1 experience is limited to a one off race for BMW Sauber, replacing the injured Kubica, followed by about a season's worth of outings for STR. His team mates have been Nick Heidfeld (for one race), Tonio Liuzzi (for the latter part of 2007) and Sebastien Bourdais. By my count, he has raced in 20 Grand Prix to date.

Is Vettel any good? Yes, I reckon so, potentially very good. But he's still a rather unknown quantity. Disregarding his one off race for BMW Sauber, his team mates have been Liuzzi and Bourdais. Neither has so far shown the potential to be a top driver. Vettel must be good to have beaten them, but we just don't know how good. His team mate for 2009 will be Mark Webber, who will provide a much better benchmark. If Vettel can consistently beat Webber then he deserves a seat in one of the top three teams. If he can't, or it's evenly matched, then perhaps he needs to spend some more time leaning his trade.

IDR and Alastair (above) both suggest that he should have gone to BMW for 2009 in place of Nick Heidfeld. I'd be wary of that. A Kubica/Vettel line up would give BMW Sauber a combined total of three full seasons F1 experience - virtually nothing. Heidfeld is having difficulties with qualifying at the moment (as is Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion), but he has a lot of experience and is a very good car sorter.

Kubica has signed a one year deal with BMW - if he goes elsewhere for 2010, and Vettel has done a decent job against Webber, then maybe consider Sebastian.

Lewis Hamilton's storming debut in 2007 has made people want to look at drivers coming up from GP2, the F3 Euroseries, etc. This sort of "youth cult" (whereby top teams take on young rookies) happens periodically in F1 and it doesn't always bear fruit, at least not instantly. Nico Rosberg burst onto the scene very impressively and has rarely looked as good since. Despite making headway, Nelson Piquet is still much maligned. Heikki Kovalainen was nearly fired by Renault after a few races in 2007. Hamilton was an exception, not the rule.

[Iago]

I'm sure Vettel is very good, but people are underestimating the package he has in the Toro Rosso. The most powerful engine on the grid (Ferrari, take a look at the Speed Trap records on many races) + nice chassis (Red Bull is handicapped by the dreadful Renault engines, but the chassis is pretty nice).

He's driving a car that right now is probably tied with Renault and Toyota and slightly behind Red Bull. And he's doing great, no doubt, but a bit more experience won't do him any harm before jumping to a stronger team.

[LUCAS]

Vettel is yet another case of media hype. I aggre with Alastair we cannot really measure him against Liuzzy and Bourdais (the worst rookie of the year). Look to what happened to Sutil since Fisichella joined his team.

First half of the year, Vettel crashed 4 races in a sequence in the first lap (Piquet has done much better than this and was still attacked by that time). I haven't see a single overtaking maneuver from him (Piquet has done 3 or 4 brilliant ones and nobody seems to remember).

Is he any good? Better than Sutil, Bourdais, Liuzzi, Sato, Davidson and the retiring Coulthard, yes. Better than Hekkie and Piquet, I doubt.

Will he be a star? He is already - it only takes you to be adore by some in the media.

[Gary M]

I have to disagree with your headline Ed. I am not sure that anyone can get wasted on Red Bull alone. Maybe Vodka and Red Bull??

Sorry.

I think he is an undoubted talent and will certainly get his chance in another year or two. A spell at Red Bull will do him no hard at all, after all it is not bad car and will certainly give him an opportunity to put his skills in the shop window.

I have a feeling that next season will be Kimi's last at Ferrari, as long as Massa can keep some consistency in his driving there is no reason to suspect Ferrari will not want him as number 1, a younger talented team-mate would fit the bill there and I think Vettel would certainly be on the shortlist. After a year at Red Bull who knows?

[Becken]

I´m very curious to see how Vettel will cope with Mark Webber, the guy who had ruthlessly destroyed all his teammates in a role. The wild Pizzonia nor the mature Coulthard could deal with Webber.

I absolutely agreed with Lucas about media hype, but some guys from press feel at this moment that Vettel is the only answer to stop Lewis in a near future, this is why the media is around him now.

Anyway, Vettel hasn´t impressive results in his early years of junior Formulae to compare with the guys who are fighting for the championship this year. He was beaten by his teammate in F3, Paul di Resta, something what makes me wonder why he is considered the new Schumacher…

Mark Hughes, has hit the nail today with an article about Vettel:

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Mark_Hughes&id=43780

Some Hughes quotes is a worth read:

“…In short, he’s demonstrated enough to show he has the potential to be a top grand prix driver.
But a new Schumacher? Maybe somewhere between Ralf and Michael…”

“…But one of those special super-talents? That’s too much a leap of faith with not enough hard evidence to back it up…”

[Anon]

I think Vettel is a really god driver. Tim is right about the teammate issue. Thing is, I actually think Tonio Liuzzi is a really underestimated driver. He probably should have finished eigth in Japan last year (he got a penalty for overtaking Sutil under safety car, but he probably would have overtaken him anyway). Bourdais can't match Vettel for pace, and he probably wouldn't beat Liuzzi. If I were Mallya, I'd try a Fisichella-Liuzzi lineup. Sry, not a big Sutil fan, I think he is a bit overrated.

I wholeheartedly agree with Tim about the Lewis phenomenon. Young drivers are made to look like as if they are magic points reservoirs that will, by default, beat the experienced one. My dad complains that a lot of drivers seem to be thinking F1 is like Playstation. Hopefully the regulations of next year will turn F1 into more racing than vieo games. Its incredible to thinkt hat Nelsinho and his father wanted him to beat Alonso this seasonb- not over the whole season, but right at the beginning too!! That didn't work out as well as hoped.

I think Vettel should trash Webber for a year (he will) and then move to a big team.

[gfehr]

""...I am not sure that anyone can get wasted on Red Bull alone..."

G'donya. (A little joke is always a relief in a litany of stale air.)

But Vettel will not be wasted at Red Bull. He needs a little primping yet.

As I recall he bumped Webber's heinie in Japan last year. And Webber has said (in his BBC column, I believe) that he never gets on with his teammates anyway. So how all that is sorted out will go far in determining Vettel's future, methinks.

No one, I might add, is suggesting that Webber is going anywhere but where he is.

Ever.

So if you thought Alonso/Hamilton (or Villeneuve/Button) was amusing, stay tuned.

[todd]

could be another jenson button - in a new good-ish car for a season or two then to the back of the grid for his prime years... i cant see redbull keeping up with the likes of toyota, renault and the next years honda as far as budgets and development goes.

[IDR]

"My dad complains that a lot of drivers seem to be thinking F1 is like Playstation" -ANON

Well, I'm afraid not only your dad complains. Looking at the steering wheel it looks pretty much like the Playsation's one!

Experience is important but IMHO experience is not always the same than seniority. Repeating the same thing so many years, doesn't guarantee nobody become an expert.

Seniority gives you the possibility of gaining experience but it will depends on your own's potential and talent, also.

In any case, for the matter we're talking about, maybe you're right, and Vettel should expend another year in Red Bull.

At the end, as TIM said, Webber could be a good test for Vettel's potential.

[Anon]

Only important news item for today: Lewis claims that Massa's form will stop in Belgium.

By all accounts, Massa is the favorite to win in Belgium. The only other guy who could beat him is Kimi, the Spa specialist, who will try to extend his hattrick of wins there t four in a row. I wonder if he will be able to beat Felipe in qualifying and win.

Anyway, Lewis saying he'll beat Felipe sounds like the Lewis that wants to win the race no matter what. I guess Felipe hs a big advantage being six points down on Lewis: There are big chances Lewis does a mistake. If I were Lewis I would settle for third in Spa and then win Italy.

Preds for Belgium:

Kimi
Felipe
Lewis

Preds for Italy

Lewis
Felipe
Heikki

[Michael Grinks]

The problem for Vettel is where would he go? There is no spot on either of the two top teams and so the only spot near the top would be with BMW and I haven't heard or read anything that would make me think that is going to happen. So as it stands Red Bull is probably as good a choice as any. As far as him having "it", if the wise heads in the paddock say he does, I'm willing to accept that, even though he hasn't necessarily shown it this year.

[Taffy61]

Sad to see that a lot of comments are obviously written through "tinted glasses". Citing from one I have to say that it verges on insult to compare Sebastian Vettel with little Piquet. Worlds apart. And by worlds I mean worlds. Rumour is that Red Bull will switch to Ferrari engines next year. Hope is that Adrian Newey will get his act together and pen a decent slick-shod mount. And prediction is that Vettel will prove himself well against Webber, who himself would be a front runner in a silver or red car. Vettel and Rosberg are the boys to watch in years to come.