Vettel collision: A champion under pressure?

You also forgot Hungary 2010, where Vettel's gap slip-up behind the safety car cost him second position following a perfectly valid drive through. It was the fault of the safety car, his team, the alightment of the stars. Just not him.

Just like Turkey, RB seem intent to mask him from any exposure/weakness where possible. When the media get to him first, it just slips out.

I am a fan of vettel, but i was shocked at his behaviour towards karthikeyan when it looked like vettel tried to get back into the racing line too early.Vettel is struggling with the lack of rear downforce and that is why webber has been able to match him this season.Maybe thats the reason for his irritability

Alonso-gracious loser ..wow andrew benson sounds like an alonso fanboy..if alonso is a gracious loser then lewis hamilton is practically a saint..

Under pressure?
The season is two races old, I doubt he's feeling any pressure at all.

It's not like straight after the race he stormed down to the HRT garage Schumacher esque is it?

Like everyone has said about Hamilton's body language on the podium in Australia, he had a poor race, is he not allowed to vent his frustration?

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

..... and today's prize cucumber for stating the bleeping obvious is ....
..... Andrew Benson!

Hang on hang on hang on...

"There were also mistakes in Britain, Belgium and Singapore that year as he very nearly gifted the world title to Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, who lost it only after a strategic error in the final race."

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the only time in 2010 that Vettel had led the drivers championship was as he went over the line at the final race of the year?
If anything Alonso/Ferrari gifted him the title because of their error, how could it have possibly been the other way round?

Fair play to Karthikeyan, Vet need's to Win the WC not have it handed to him

Andrew - can I suggest that two races in is a little early to call Vettel an ungracious loser or describe a loss of mojo.
All drivers are capable of phases of less than perfect behaviour - Alonso was a buffoon when he was getting beaten by new-boy Hamliton in 2007 and even your favourite, Jenson Button, can behave inappropriately - remember driving Hamliton into the wall at Montreal?
I have always believed the "Vettel better than Schumacher" crowd to have been premature last year. However, Vettel has thoroughly deserved his two titles and you may live to regret writing about his decline so soon.

Don't forget that Vettel is but a boy, whereas his main opponents are through those immature years of their early twenties. Cucumber or not, Mr Vettel needs to chill.

It looks like it may not be Vettel's year, but it's early days.

Incidentally, Grosjean seems to be a breath of fresh air. His attitude after the incident in Australia should serve as a template for Vettel.

I wanna see Vettel with a regular car or atleast not the top one, and it seems maybe this year we,ll have the opportunity.
He is afraid, nervous, he doesnt really know how good he is. Neither do i.

Slow news day, and something has to be written...

People are really looking at this from the wrong angle. I see this as a mark of a great champion.

Senna and Prost were hardly good losers and we all know what happened there, you can hardly say Schumacher would have been a good loser had he lost the title in '94 after his antics with Damon or that he was a good loser when he was booted out of the '97 Championship for unsportmanlike behaviour or when he parked his car when net-pole in Monaco and so on.

Can hardly say Hamilton was a good loser last season when he complained about penatlies (justified or not) or that Alonso was a good loser when he constantly criticised Hamilton and sabotage his race chances but sitting too long in a pitbox.

What's the difference here? Karthekiyan is waved flags to move out of the way. He says he had to come back onto the drier racing line to avoid an incidence. Therefore Vettel can claim he had to stay on the drier racing line to avoid an incident.

Any great champion would be upset about it. How is Button meant to fly off the handle when it was 100% his fault that he outbraked himself into the HRT? Yes, he is one of the most gracious losers in the paddock but that's not necessarily a good thing.

Not entirely sure what the point is in having no-hoper teams like HRT who will never achieve anything in Formula 1. They just act as mobile chicanes occasionally tripping over front running cars and ruinning races. They certainly add no intrigue to the contest - we know they'll come absolute last.

In terms of determing blame for the crash, I'd say it's the same as most insurance companies. The car from behind is to blame.. it's the same on ski slopes too! Watch out if you see Karthikeyan there too as he won't be looking to follow the rules.

I'm actually amazed he was let into the first race having missed out on the 107% time, having blocked half the field in the process.

I'm not pro-Vettel at all, I just think that backmarkers should move out of the way. How anyone can suggest that it was anyone other than Karthikeyan's fault is a mystery. The guy re-joined the racing line, having made space off it and then plowed into the back of Vettel.

Calling someone a 'cry baby', how choice given that it's hardly the most mature of things to say. I look forward to watching Karthikeyan driving s-l-o-w-l-y in the next race.. should be fun!

First of all, the incident wasn't Vettel's fault. Karthikeyan admitted it.
He said "The kerb was wet. I had wheelspin so I had to move right."
(AUTOSPORT.com https://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98390%29

If you watch Vettel's onboard, then you can see that Karthikeyan was off the track before Vettel got close to him. He got back to the track by Vettel came, but it seems he struggled to control his car.

Although I'm a Vettel fan, I don't care what people think about his behavior. But it's not fair that he is blamed as if he caused the crash.

When Button crashed into the HRT it was for position so he couldn't complain for the same reasons as Vettel. As for Alonso, I can't stand him, but you've got to admire his skill. Good blog.

14.
At 15:23 29th Mar 2012, mr murray wrote:

Not entirely sure what the point is in having no-hoper teams like HRT who will never achieve anything in Formula 1. They just act as mobile chicanes occasionally tripping over front running cars and ruinning races. They certainly add no intrigue to the contest - we know they'll come absolute last.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A bit like Red Bull when they started then!

Although this is quite a premature blog:

Lets all be honest with ourselves. Vettel, isn't that great, he had the best car and drove from the front to win his championships.

All those Vettel fanboys out there dont want to admit the truth everyone else can see; Now Vettel hasn't got the best car on the grid he is throwing a wobbly because he isn't good enough.

Admit it fanboys, admit it.

@14 mr murray

"I'm actually amazed he was let into the first race having missed out on the 107% time, having blocked half the field in the process."

I assume you didn't watch the first race...

the things he said about and called Karthikeyan is a disgrace to be honest the man is trying to drive his own race,mind his own business,trying to continue racing in what is a pretty unspectacular career and he is doing and trying his best,why the hell does is vettel think he can say these stupid things he was clearly at fault and the FIA think karth was in the wrong ,what is he suppose to do brake to a standstill or dive of the track.he is a cry baby,brat and i can think of a few other words.if hamilton done this there would be war(monaco,he kind of deflected what he said about massa and maldonaldo(they are both stupid,one cant drive a car and the other crashes in his own shadow) with the ali g "joke".

Karthikeyan is right the top teams and drivers bully teams like hrt and marussia and caterham of the track.imho vettel needs to appologise to him and get some dignity and crediability back because he is an embarrassment,the 2 time world champ, cringe in horror.he can learn alot from button,he took it on the chin,accepted full responsability and said sorry to his team and had a laugh about it.class

Interesting to see this side of Vettel - definitely feeling the pressure. Whilst technically he might feel justified in blaming Karthikeyan, what on earth was he doing cutting back in so early. A driver of his experience should no better and when I saw it first time, I thought it was Vettel's fault.
Without doubt, most of the top drivers are so competitive that they behave like spoilt kids when they lose. Hamilton is a prime example and Alonso was guilty in the past. Vettel appears to be in the same category. Only Button seems to be able to keep a balanced view. Maybe some would argue this is why he hasn't won more!

at the end of the day its a race incident you cant just go piling the blame on the backmarkers, and karthikeyan has every right to stop him self from crashing or overly damaging his car its not like they have alot of money to throw around replacing it. they struggle to finish races as it is cut them some slack it cant be easy racing against teams that have bedded them selves into the greatest Motorsport.

I have always thought Vettel a little easy to rattle when he isnt on top, the accidents with Webber in Turkey and with Button at Spa a prime example.

The incident with Kathikeyan was clearly his fault, he cut across to early, I was stunned when Karthikeyan received a penalty.

Vettel clearly cant cope when his car isnt dominant and he was lucky to win in 2010 as it was clear that Red Bull favoured him over Webber and had Webber been backed I think he would have won instead, as they clearly developed the car to favour Vettel as Ferrari did with Shumacher in the past and it seems Mercedes are doing now!

I couldn't agree more with 18. Hau5fly.

To add to Hau5fly's comments....IMO Hamilton is simply a better all round driver and if Vettel and Hamilton had identical equipment, Lewis would wipe the floor with him.

I think people are getting confused here. No Vettel is not a bad loser by F1 standards. But yes he is not the saint many seemed to think he was.

I am also very glad to see it noted that when the Red Bull people don't tell him what to say he isn't such a charming young man. In interviews I always get the sense he is a bit of a robot, just repeating the answers his PR staff have fed him. Kind of like how Hamilton was at first. Now I must say I have a lot more respect for Hamilton as he now says what he thinks, rather than what his dad and PR team think.

I've met many German's who are quite affable, but more than a few are laced with arrogance that personally I dislike. Vettel has had the magic bullet removed from him that made him a double world champion, and he knows by now he is up against it this year, and will find the drivers championship very difficult to defend. I expect all ex.champions go through a phase of having to accept defeat which does not come easy to any of them, perhaps leading to more and more desperate moves as time runs out. - However it's still very early days and the championship is wide open, and I expect Red Bull to bounce back.

"Slow news day, and something has to be written..."

And knowing Benson and his blogs, it will be something sensationalist over something so unimportant.

It always going to be hard to fully apportion blame in these circumstances, Yes Karthikeyan should be aware of the faster front cars coming through and yes Vettel should be aware of back markers mixed up with a little wet weather racing to make things interesting, but for them to both start name calling, they should really nip this one in the bud. We all saw the Hamilton / Massa soap opera last season (Yes I understand, the issues they have run deeper)

The last thing Vettel needs now is to have a slower car potentially making life difficult for him, blue flags or not.

I guess the only way we can see how its effecting him is the next race in China.

Way to soon for this article put it down to a racing incident and get over it, judge him at the end of the season!

Big up fantastic fernando what a drive from the most complete driver on the grid! Even in 07 he did his fair share of moaning and wasnt always happy and lewis the hungry young new super talented racing driver STILL couldnt beat him in the same car.

When he gets the car he'll be unbeatable!

Forza alonso!

It was always obvious to many that Vettel is little more than a journeyman driver in a very fast car. At every occasion where there has been pressure, he starts cracking. His behaviour this year is no surprise , apart to those who have thought for some strange reason that he is becomming one of the 'greats'. There are 'class acts' in the field like Hamilton, Alonso and (should he return) Kubica. Certainly not Vettel.

i think this season is going to confirm what most people already believed Vettel cant get the job done without the fastest car that is why Hamilton and Alonso are superior drivers

Anyone could see Karthikeyan couldn't have got any more over to the side of the track. He actually placed himself in danger of crashing out of the race by going right over onto the wet marbles right next to the rumble strip. I feel so annoyed that both Vettel, and also Christian Horner, decided to take out their frustrations on Narain Karthikeyan and tried to skip any blame by blaming him instead. It's no good Horner and Vettel sticking to the line of saying the responsibility is all on the back marker to get out of the way. The video showed Narain did his very best to try and do just that on a wet surface.

The fact is there is also a responsibility on the driver overtaking to treat any back marker as a moving obstacle that they have to make sure they stay away from and do not collide with. Vettel patently failed to do that because he went too wide into Karthikeyan's path and then moved left too soon and clipped his car. I don't agree that it was just a racing incedent. It was Vettel's fault 100% and he and Horner owe Narain Karthikeyan a very big apology.

Had it been Hamilton in this situation rather then Vettel I am certain he would be penalised. I think Vettel should be handed some form of punishment inorder for him to learn from his mistakes. The double world champion should start acting like one and deal with the fact that you are not always going to have the best car.

The previous few bloggers are correct. Karthikeyan is owed a big apology by Vettel and Red Bull.

Vettel won his championships because of slower cars on the grid! Perhaps he forgets this and believed everyone had the same quality car.

I seem to remember a couple of seasons back when Vettel smashed into Webber during a rain-soaked race (forget which one). Has Vettel forgotten that? Or has he forgotten how he took out his team mate two seasons ago. Or how about ruining that race for Button. I think Seb needs to grow up, learn a little humility, some grace, and learn to accept the reality of racing. There's only one idiot on the track as far as I'm concerned, and it's certainly not Karthikeyan! If Webber continues to gain more points throughout the season the true face of Vettel will be revealed.

Jeeze, what an awful article. For a start, we are two races into the season, what else can I say about that. Furthemore, you compare Vettels incident to Buttons as if both have had the same misfortune even though they were completely different. Poor journalism. Button was fighting for position with the HRT and just drove into him, Vettel was lapping the car and got tagged by the HRT's front wing as he crawled back onto the track (i'm completely mindboggled as to how people can see it was Vettel's fault unless they looked at the collision once from one camera angle, the FIA have ever camera angle available to them and they gave a pentalty to the HRT but of course you still argue, why would the FIA know more than someone sitting on their sofa who has watched it once and hates Vettel)- I'm pretty sure one driver has a right to be angry and the other should hold his hands up, as has happened. The fanboys who leaped to Hamilton's side after his Monacco comments are now at the throat of Vettel, I can safely say I expected as much. Sure, i'm slightly disappointed in Vettel's attitude, he should have calmed down some more before he went for his interviews, but it is understandable when there are 4 cars on the grid running hopelessly off the pace. Catheram seem to be the only new team who have really given everything in an attempt to catch the midfield, HRT and Marussia look as haphazard as their first ever F1 race.

Im fairly new to the sport only started watching since late 2009 but i am loving seeing vettel & his redbull start on the backfoot i cant stand him so its absolutly brilliant to see him spit his dummy out i would love to see webber beat him this year! Good to see a few other teams starting to challenge the supposidly top 3 but i am english thro & thro so its McLaron all the way i dont care who wins Hamiliton or Button its just great to see two brilliant drivers each in their own right lock out the front row in the first two races long may it continue. Although i do think Hamiliton will win the title

I wonder what Ayrton Senna or Schumacher in his pomp would have called this back marker? Legends are rarely gracious losers and Vettel's remarks are tame compared to his predecessors. I reckon Christian Horner would rather have a "noughty" Vettel than a good loser any day.

Just how much danger do back markers have to put themselves into before others finally start to say that actually maybe the overtaking car has some responsibility too. Karthikeyan moved so far over he got onto the wet marbels, slid onto the rumble strip and was fighting to keep the car under control. What will it take for Vettel and Horner to say Karthikeyan did as much as he could to get out of the way. I suppose if Karthikeyan flew off the track and was killed would that allow enough room for Vettel to get past?

It has not been a bad start to the season for Seb, was running a solid 4th when the incident happened last weekend in very difficult conditions, and got 2nd in Melbourne, how bad is that? The Red Bull is not on the pace yet so if anything he over-performed in the machinery he has to hand this year.

Although proved by the stewards to be in the right, his reaction to it could and should have been more mature. I can forgive the idiot comment but the cucumber one was talking it too far and he should apologise for it. As for the hand gestures that has been going on in F1 for ages, for example DC and MS in France (98 I think) comes to mind, among many other examples. Let me be clear it does not make his reaction (hand gesture) right but it does not make him any different to any other driver.

As for Seb v Mark, in qualifying he was beaten by Mark in Melbourne, but finished higher in the race (maybe different strategy in the set up?). Last weekend the Red Bulls qualified on different tires so cannot be compared and had similar race pace. Great to see Mark back on form though.

So lets not beat up on Seb yet, lets see how he gets on this year. He is a great talent, what he has done in F1 at his age is amazing, no matter how good the car was. He shows emotion when things go wrong, but then as mentioned in the comments some of the great World Champions do too.

15. At 15:31 29th Mar 2012, megu wrote:


Although I'm a Vettel fan, I don't care what people think about his behavior. But it's not fair that he is blamed as if he caused the crash.

==============================

Those are indeed the words of a Vettel fan.

When I watched it in real time, it looked like a misjudgement from Vettel and I'd have placed the blame solely on him. All this talk about NK having to get out of the way is ludicrous - he DID get out of the way - so much so he was on the wet curb. There is only so much a backmarker can do.

Vettel pulled back in prematurely, and paid the price. All it'd take is 2 or 3 seconds more, and a glance in his mirrors, and he'd have been clear. But he had his eyes on the prize (3rd place) and made a mistake.

Having seen the replays, I will concede that NK does also move his car to the right as Vettel is coming back in left - perhaps this is what fooled Vettel. But at worst, that makes it a 50-50.

Also, for the record, insurance companies don't have a one size fits all policy of it always being the guy behinds fault. If you're passing me on the motorway and pull across into the front edge of my car, that's still your fault and your misjudgement - whether you're technically 'ahead' or not.

For the record, I'm not even an NK fan. I think he's a big waste of an F1 seat, considering the other talent we've seen in recent years that are unable to secure a drive. But Vettel's reaction shows a complete lack of class.

I don't agree that Vettel needs the best car to succeed, step forward the win in atrocious conditions at Monza for his maiden victory... in a Torro Rosso. He is human though and was as much to blame for his back marker scrap as anyone but he's a world champion and can't be seen to have weakness, pure and simple. For all the Red Bull's faults and as enjoyable as it is to see him wobble he will be there or there abouts at the end of the year make no mistake. Most likely there will be a Brit in the mix at the end of the year and we do tend to bring out the best in a German sporting performance...

@Riggadon - no less sensationalist than a lot of the responses of the armchair experts in this thread it has to be said...

@RememberScarborough - I may be wrong on the exact figure but - including quite a few back markers - Senna collided with drivers he was overtaking something like about 15 or 16 times over the decade or so he was in F1, and he often had some very unkind words about the other participant in the collision, whether he was to blame or not. Just a couple of Senna's many character flaws which were airbrushed out of the picture when he was deified after his departure from this world.

Although we had the tabloid newspapers back in Senna's time, luckily we didn't have the internet to fill up the world with over the top psychological analysis of minor sporting incidents.

I am a big fan of Vettel, as a driver and a person, but like him or not the comments he made were just out of order. However this isn't the first time we have seen him like this. In the his first championship winning season we saw lots of moments like this, both in his comments and his driving.

Vettel's move on Karthikeyan was clumsy at best and arrogant in that he probably assumed he would be let through, his comment afterwards smacked of sour grapes that said he is young and immature. I'm not sure any of the drivers have a particularly circumspect view of racing incidents, its all part of being part of the f1 milieu.

JB, FA and in fact all the drivers have stuck out their bottom lips in the past, but as they get older they tend to have a more measured view of events. LH was sulky after the Australian gpwhich was disappointing, but he possibly won't react in the same way again.

Only SV can tell whether he is under pressure or not, certainly reports suggest that the atmosphere in the red bull garage isn't as happy as it was, but that's because they aren't dominant as they were last season. It will be interesting to see if upgrades can make the car more competitive, at least we don't have to listen to SV trotting out his "that's what I'm talking about" on the radio at the end of every grand prix - for a while at least.

Vettels got bucketloads of talent, no doubt about that, and I'm sure he will make it good with an inferior car, maybe not this year but definitely in the near future as he matures as a driver. However his comments showed a complete lack of class and makes me appreciate other drivers, especially webber and button. I liked his pre-season comments stating he was favourite to win, but now he just seems arrogant.

Mark Webber, Japan 2007 after colliding with Vettel:

"It's kids, isn't it? Kids with not enough experience and then they... (I can't say the rest). This was live on TV.

I really do find to hard to understand why this is such a big deal.
They should just tell each other mummys and get over it.
Not quite as bad as massa vs lewis handbag swings at each other in the pitlane last year tho.

Granted its nothing new been done since the start of F1.
Vettle is not under presure hes just got a dented ego all drivers get it for time to time just most handle it better.
As for karthikeyan not sure what hes moaning about his run in with vettle is the most air time hes ever had(its a pity he cant run his car as well as he can run to the press as soon as someone says a mean word about him).



Real drivers let the action on the track speak for them and dont feel the need to whine about it.
If by chance vettle or karthikeyan

I felt the media were being a little premature last year when declaring Vettel one of the sport's greatest.
A year with an average car was always going to show any signs of weakness and the golden image has already been tarnished.
Vettel has not yet matured and probably won't for a few years yet. It is grossly naive and immature of Vettel to expect any rite of passage in Formula One just because he has achieved two championships at a young age.
Vettel may not win the championship this year but can still show his pedigree by driving the car he has inherited with the same verve and determination as last year.
There is an arrogance and right of entitlement Vettel needs to lose rather quickly if he is to achieve anything this year. The growing pains begin now.

posted too early so
if If by chance vettle or karthikeyan were upset by my post the only way I can make it better is to offer them a hug:)

At the team debrief on Tuesday, Red Bull discussed the new side pods they will have for China that should improve performance a little. Adrian Newey was apparently coy and suggested the main "niggles" will only be dealt with at the test in Mugello following the Bahrain race.

Interestingly, the view was that the car has the "potential" to be the quickest in a race but probably not over a single lap.

This is some admission! "Potential" is hardly a strong and positive statement of the state of the car. Also pretty much admitting they can't get pole is cataclysmic.

Red Bull always have a driver at the factory post race debrief and Webber was scheduled for some R&R back in Australia. Vettel was conspicuous by his absence.

Under pressure? Clearly; and singnificantly so.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Every driver feels pressure, Hamilton and Button are under pressure despite having the fastest car.

Jenson had a great race in Australia and lost points in Malaysia due to a driving error. He can't blame anyone but himself but after getting ahead of Lewis and falling behind others, there is no doubt some pressure contributed to the error that took him out of the fight. Instead of biding time, as he usually would, he felt the need to make the move straight away, probably because Lewis was breathing down his neck.

There is no doubt Lewis feels pressure having taken two poles and only managing two third places. He thought he had the fastest car and he wants to be winning, but now he is communicating a clear message; he wants an even faster car.

You can tell McLaren are also feeling it from their pit stops.

Seb maximised his result in Melbourne given the circumstances and he was on course to have a crack at Lewis in Malaysia. He has lost serious ground due to Karthekiyan's decision to swerve into his car (Narain has admitted it, the debate should be whether he needed to swerve or not and not if Seb cut in front of him). He is feeling pressure but his two drives thus far suggest he is able to deal with it. Hence the frustration when he loses a net 12 points, which is often the difference in winning and losing titles as he well knows from 2010.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

@52
What part of this blog has ago at lewis? I must of missed it? Ill re read it and check but just in case I dont spot it could you point it out for me thanks

@ 52

Spot on - all day long.......

@ 36

Spot on - all day long......

@54
Hi I hope you dont mind me saying are you not taking thigs alittle too far?

ie the bit where you say
I've got your card Benson, and your colleagues for that matter. I can read between the lines all day, everyday, and we both know why Lewis gets the treatment that he does - don't we.

Some would find it alittle creepy even stalkersh not saying you are but you might want to just tone it down a tad

All drivers have their moments out of the car which they regret, but Vettel's gestures in and out of the cockpit in KL was going too far, he has had it all his own way in the past 18 months and people like DC and Jake Humphrey have made him out to be a saint and a ''good guy'', well its very easy to be happy go lucky and joyful with the media when you are winning but it becomes a whole lot harder to maintain that when things get tough.

I get the sense that when DC quipped ''are we seeing one of the all time greats'' about Vettel he was gravely wrong, in fact that statement could not be further from the truth. He needs to grow up big time

Last year when Lewia Hamilton was having a bad time there were many people posting comments here saying things like he was immature, pathetic, bad driver, spoilt brat etc etc. Those same people were also saying that if someone like Vettel went through the same thing he'd act differently....

Now I see some of the same people trying to defend the immature actions of Vettel, saying things like 'I dont see what the issue is' in regard to his recent actions..

Isn't it strange how many peoples train of thought changes when the tables are turned huh?

Fact of the matter is, Vettel's true colours are now being shown now he's in a car of the same capabilities that everyone else was driving around in last year in terms of competitiveness. He doesn't like it and to be honest things are going to get a while lot worse soon, particularly if Webber consistently beats him.

This more level playing field is showing who's really the best team and drivers out there.

It's a sad truth, but the people who win most are often the ones who are most driven to win. And the most driven are generally not the nicest people or the easiest to get along with; more likely, though not necessarily, they will tend to be egocentric and, when things go wrong, rarely see themselves as being the cause.

Mr. Benson was quite right to mention Hamilton because this is exactly what he did last year!

I don't like Vettle I dunno just his personality. I find his celebrating after a race a little forced over the radio (seriously after a world championship why don't we get something like Jenson's rendition of We are the Champions?). I find his unorthodox one finger salute just as aggressive and the orthodox one he brandished at the weekend (I've seen drive shake fists before but it's not usually for that long showing emotion is okay but Vettle went too far).

I also despise his changing of Helmets as youn'un I'd look for the Saltire of DC's helm. Or Schumachers red helmet. There making minor changes to your helmet now and then for various reasons but every race? Now every session? Seriously it just rubs the wrong way.

As devoted Rugby and Cricket fan Vettle has managed to make me support and Australian at Sport! Pig have flows for this man ;)

Can't be bothered to quote whoever it was who questioned my knowledge of Karthikeyan. Sorry I don't like to watch backmarkers running 10 seconds off the pace each race. If I had such an interest than maybe I would have noticed that for once the teams decided against letting in the HRT losers in Australia.

It wouldn't surprise me if a big red double decker bus had better aerodynamics than the HRT. And before someone tries to get smart, yes I realise it wouldn't get through the regulations, and secondly also realise it's colour does not affect its aerodynamics neither.

Have fun watching Karthikeyan driving so slowly :D.

As much as i thought it was Vettel's fault in Turkey, that was racing for position. And i've always assumed its the overtakers responsibility to ensure they overtake completely.
I do think Vettel was a bit close to the HRT in the race. He could have given him more room. But on the previous corner, Hamilton went past the HRT as it went offline and you can see the dirt lift up. Surely you would expect the same to be given to Vettel?

I think the problem is just HRT and the other panda pop teams. If it was Vettel lapping Massa for instance, and there was a collision, i doubt there would be so much of a problem.
HRT just plain shouldn't be on the track. They are so off the pace they are a danger to the other drivers. Its the same thing as when you're driving and you come up against a cyclist. Its dangerous meeting another driver who is much much slower.
Imagine it was Vettel who passed first, then Hamilton got a puncture, and this was the final lap at Brazil, for the championship.

Christian Horner got it 100% right. When you are a lapped car, or about to be lapped, you have an obligation to move out of the way.

Narain Karthikeyan has got to be one of the worst F1 drivers for one of the worst F1 teams. I think his remarks about Vettel being a cry baby are a call for sympathy as he has no leg to stand on.

This year is going to be too good to be ruined by mobile chicanes to muck results up. Im no Vettel fan, and i expect him to be a lot less calm this year. But its the years you are not successful that show real character. That is why i am such big fans of Button and Alonso - they possess a level of maturity that Hamilton and Vettel can only dream of.

finally a report about how vettel really is: a spoilt brat

Go on Seb win the World Championship again and show all these haters what you are made of. Of course he was angry and upset - he wants to win! Bet it would be a different story if you weren't German.

To be honest what gets to me in all this is the amount of complacency and the fact that no-one seems to be acknowledging that the leaders have as much responsibility as those being lapped when it comes to safety. It just feels really dangerous to me to allow leading drivers to think like that.

I don’t want to put all the blame on Vettel. Young people are allowed to be a bit immature at times and all of us had to go through that process of learning and gaining more experience. It’s also true that plenty of other drivers have behaved similarly. In his interview afterwards Vettel was rude and showed his immaturity and lack of experience but I could forgive him that because he’s still young..

However, there ought to be enough older, and much more experienced, people in F1 who remember the scenes that were so incredibly sickening and gut wrenching to watch when Ayrton Senna was lying on the track being attended to next to his smashed Williams. That terrible weekend claimed not only his life but also that of Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying the previous day. I think, in the 18 years since which have gone by, perhaps the memory of that tragic weekend has become too distant and many will be too young to remember. That weekend was the reason why the years since have seen such a massive emphasis on safety in the race rules and in car design.

Of course there will always be some risk and, yes, that forms part of the excitement which adds to the spectacle and the enjoyment. However, I just think it sometimes goes too far. I was more shocked by the comments of Christian Horner than of Vettel to be honest because he ought to be able to remember that tragedy of losing two F1 drivers in the same weekend. It’s even more astonishing that the F1 bosses allow the bigger teams to get away with those kind of bullying comments that I feel are only going to further endanger the people in the slower cars.

Karthikeyan caused himself enough risk by going out onto the marbles in the wet to get out of the way of Vettel. Horner’s comments were simply designed to rack up the pressure on every back marker by saying that wasn’t a good enough effort to get out of the way. Every driver has to be allowed to try to avoid danger to themselves as well as looking out for others around them. Trying to talk as if the leaders have no part to play when it comes to each others safety only increases the pressure on back markers to take even greater risks. Sorry, I could care less about whether one of the leaders gains an extra second or two just because people are so hyped up wanting them to win. That extra one or two seconds isn’t worth any drivers life.

Yes, back markers should try not to obstruct the leaders when they come past but there is a responsibility on all drivers, including those in the lead, to take care not to put each other at too greater risk.

Personally I love watching F1 but I don’t ever want to sit watching another driver dying right in front of me on live TV.

People tend to forget that nowadays F1 drivers are only as good as their cars. The rules are so tough that unless you have a good car underneath you, you cannot fight for podiums, unless of course you have rain or perhaps you are an 'Alonso'. Btw i hate that guy, but do respect his skill.
Vettel had a superior car last year, and he mastered the Pirelli tyres right from the beginning. He almost went into a bubble where he nailed almost every qualifying and along with the support from a very efficient team (pit crew, strategists and a genius in Adrian Newey), converted most of these podiums into wins.
Also worth remembering is that the car's reliability was impeccable which made a big difference as compared to 2010 championship.
The car's supremacy in 2012 is gone, at least for these early stages, so Vettel is out of his comfort zone and is having to fight really hard for the points and inevitably like human beings and other racing drivers making mistakes.
However i don't agree to how he reacted in front of the press. It was unprofessional and pathetic, not worthy of a 2 time world champion. I am even disgusted at the FIA for penalising Karthikeyan. I saw the replay and it was totally Vettel's fault, Karthikeyan couldn't have made his car invisible, maybe Seb needs mirrors like the ones fitted to Lewis's McLaren this year.
Having said that i am sure Vettel will bounce back, and become stronger this year. He just has to come to terms with the fact that he no longer has a rocket ship underneath him.

I fins it strange that Button has escaped without any blame despite his error on Sunday. First of all from the stewards as surely he caused an available accident, and secondly from the blogs on here.

The season is too young to draw any meaningful conclusions yet. What we see in Vettel is a driver who knows he is not at Alonso's or even Hamilton's/Button's level, and who is trying desperately to mask this evident by the results fact by 'shouting' out loud and turning the attention to the 'champion's' outburst. He was never a star (remember BMW choosing Kubica over him because he was 0.5 seconds per lap faster testing the same car) before driving Newey supercars. He struggles for years now to convincingly beat Webber nearing his retirement. Imagine him driving the Ferrari...he wouldn't stop off-track excursions. Just count how many he had in the Red Bull this season already... Let's hope Ferrari and McLaren give their pilots decent cars for the rest of the season and allow them to fight it out for the title. They are the real class acts we all want to see driving on the edge and wheel to wheel, knowing they will not crash every second time they try to overtake

We saw Vettel's true colours in Turkey 2010, end of discussion.
Yeah sure, when he's winning he's a nice chap, all smiles, charming everyone on the F1 forum, but the minute it doesn't all go his way he shows a nasty, vindictive, petulant, spoilt childish streak. But we've known that for nearly two years.

I get the feeling that when in the fastest car and on pole position, Vettel can win. If he has to get his way up the grid and rely on being a talented driver and not just a fast driver, well this year we will see what he is really made of. Not sure myself.

Andrew I do agree with most of your comments but you must remember the old adage "show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser"
It's almost Senna like and he was the master.

It basically proves that Vettel is a poor loser! And he needs to grow up rather than throwing tantrums!!

See JH's current blog below. Are we going to hear anything about the 2012 F1 season? Or just edited highlights from 2011?


"Welcome to my blog where I will be sharing all the insider news, uploading videos and photos throughout the 2011 F1 season."

The comparison to Button is not correct. One needs to realise that Button for most of his career has been with the team in the back - Honda. He has been in nearly the same place as Karthikeyan and has been lapped numerous times.

Vettel needs to rethink and correct his attitude before entering the racing track.

Why has he got to be perfect? He is a regular guy who happens to be a brilliant driver. This is just like the way Lewis was talked up then crucified when he made mistakes. The human/emotional side of F1 is an important part- people's reaction to their success or failure is a big part of the story and the pleasure of being a fan.

i dont know why ppl still need to point out the differences between reality and Bensons blog. You should know by now hes been watching some other race for the past 10 years! Just do the right thing and avoid.. and get yourself Sky F1 (HD of course)
looool

Non-issue, a racing incident, Vet was nailing it and catching Lewis, should have left a bit more room. It was barely a touch and happens so fast when seen from Vet's cockpit view at full speed. Karth admitted losing and catching it on the exit which is why he moved towards Vet, admitting this possible led to the penalty. Vet giving the middle finger is not a big deal either, just heat of the moment, bit like DC to Schuey's chops at Magny Cours 2000, though Schuey deserved it more.

'idiot and cucumber!', 'crybaby!'

It's all a bit pathetic, what's next... 'I'm telling my team boss mummy on you' ?

It's hardly going to lead to a head to head like Lewis VS Massa last year. If it does it won't be when racing, only chance of an incident would be when Vet puts him 1 lap down, 2 laps down, 3 laps down etc... ;)

I mean ignore it, or F1 will end up as pathetic as football when the players get penalties dished out for tripping over a blade of grass or pretending to be hit and dropping to the ground and rolling about as if they were shot.

It was hardly like Salazar VS Piquet now was it? That was an entertaining F1 spat.

@ Ferrari 35,

Lol!!!.....talking about spin.....dear!!!

How about when you see the name "ash" you don't read the post?

The fact is that was the last paragraph in that actual post, which was quite long, so that means you read it all, and that makes me feel real good - believe me.

If you can't handle it, don't read it.

I am from Milton Keynes where Red Bull is based. I am a fan of Vettel and Red Bull - but this incident is shameful. I cringed at the thought of a world champ choosing such words - not once but twice! It certainly doesn't look like he blurted it out - he quite literally meant to call one of his fellow drivers an idiot - disgraceful. Rewind 3-4 years when Red Bull were not the top dogs. Would they appreciate similar treatment from top teams of the time?

@ Mr Benson,

Obviously I offended you, hence the deletion of my post.

Sorry Andrew, keep up the great work.....your a legend mate!!!

Oh, Seb... you impatient man, you! xD

He did shock me though... my jaw dropped and everything. I was so shocked when he called Narain an idiot that when Bruno was talking I was just thinking;
'He called another driver an idiot! Oh my sweet pancakes!' -
and just kept repeating that to myself.

Then the clip with his 'sign language'... I must admit... I did laugh at that.

The mark of a truly great driver is when in a position of disadvantage they maximise the advantage to be had in an intelligent way - so coming up to lap a back marker on a wet track they think in advance that the driver being lapped is going to be off line and a bit unpredictable, that they are going to get him anyway and why risk going out over a extra 1/10th of a second and give than extra 6" of racing room...I think we have seen this is a skill that Seb has yet to fully master, for me it really was his mistake - simply because he had most to loose...

I love it , at last we see the true sign of the lucky loser that Vettel is, he had the fastest ca nothing more, great world champion my ar-se, not once in two years did I see anything more than dominance, BECAUSE of the car NOT driving ability, now he has to race for real he is the first to fall. What a complete idiot, he can take his single finger salute and shove it, where the sun don't shine.

@80
Im glad me reading you post makes you feel better:) if it helps brighten you day that make me feel better too.
Not sure about the spin comment maybe your reading between the lines picked up on something I had not considered all I want to convey was you post might be seen as over the top and get removed (the bbc have taken posts down for a lot less).

As for not reading you posts why on earth would I want to do that? I and im sure many others here find you posts a most entertaining read why if only the rest of us had half your talent to read between the lines and debate a point as well as you im sure it would make here a better place.

Besides if me reading your post makes you happy who am I to take that from you:)

Andrew - You don't half write some tripe mate. I would give my left arm for a job like yours so would you kindly start writing about and commenting on things that are actually of note rather than filling your 'blog' with utter garbage?

Thank you...

I think Benson is really starting to loose the plot!!!!!

His inability to just write an article without "Brown nosing" Jenson Button or taking subtle sly digs at Hamilton are clumsy, transparent and very poor journalism.

Silly comparisons of Vettels reaction and Buttons are ridiculous. Jenson knew he was in the wrong and Vettel (understandably at the time) thought he was in the right so to compare their reactions is non-sensical.

I could see why he made that strange comparison as it was another way for him to try and compliment Jenson.

He can't even name the sources of his quotes and just says..."Comparisons have been drawn....." (by who?)
"One leading F1 figure told me...." (honestly you couldn't make this up...... or could you?)

When people start posting about fanboys just remember that Benson contiues to prove with every article that he is the biggest Jenson fanboy by a country mile!!!!!!

spot on!! if it was hamilton it would be a whole massive carry on and probably in front of stewards about it, why should vettel get away with it??

@ 88

Lol!!!

Clearly Vettel is not happy, and exploited Karthikeyan's (albeit rightly deserved) reputation, to slag him concerning an error that Vettel himself seemed at fault for. It could be Karthikeyan was slow to yield on a blue flag, or some other driving manner that vexed Vettel, but the incident itself seemed to be caused by Vettel.
I've never been a big fan of Vettel, but the stats don't lie, he's a double world champion, and fully deserving of it. Yes the Red Bull was the best car, but usually, nine times out of ten, then best car is going to win. This past weekend was a spectacular example of an exception to the rule.
Nonetheless, no one really knows how a more representative race, of the Formula One racetrack average is going to turn out. China, dry, and without major racing incident should give a more representative picture. I expect Red Bull will be a lot closer than they have been, but I hope the best driver gets a podium, maybe even the win, even though he's at Lotus.

You would almost think that vettel wants the trophy handed to him. But enough of vettel/Hamilton/button fanboyism, and for that matter claims of vettel/Hamilton/button fanboyism. Any guesses as to what will happen in china? Crossing my fingers for a lotus 1-2.

At last, the prayers have been answered...
A blog dedicated for Vettel bashing. Well done Mr Benson.

@ Mr Benson

There were also mistakes in Britain, Belgium and Singapore that year as he very nearly gifted the world title to Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, who lost it only after a strategic error in the final race.
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A championship is not won or lost on one single error. How about the driver errors Alonso made during the 2010 season (Monaco, Australia, China etc)? Vettel would have won the championship much earlier if not for the mechanical problems he encountered in Bahrain (spark-plug failure), Australia (loose wheel nut) and Korea (engine failure); all while leading the races. So I find it a little odd when you say "lost it only after a strategic error in the final race".

PS - I'm really glad that you have many good friends such as;
- some in Germany (Vettel, some in Germany have said, doesn't know how to lose)
- others (Although the stewards penalised Karthikeyan for the incident, others are not sure it's quite so clear-cut)
- one leading F1 figure (One leading F1 figure told me: "It was completely Vettel's fault...)

@93 At the end of the penultimate race of that season, the title was alonso's to lose. And lose it he did because of a strategic error. If you get involved in the specifics to such a large extent, this blog would be annoyingly long and would frustrate anyone to death.

@54
Read the 5-6 lines at the begining of the article. What I was saying was,he would always write things that had more negative image of Lewis.Coming in from a just recent incidences, should'nt it have been more appropriate to have used Jenson's name rather than Lewis?Jenson owed up,like a sportsman indeed,and have loved since his days in Williams, therefore the media did not prey on him for the error.British journalists in F1 seem to prey more on Lewis;must admit,a fiesty one than Jenson.Had it been Lewis in this collision, oh what a happy 3 week bastoning from Andrew till China.He is lying low,yet they cannot leave him alone.

if you look at the footage, as vettel is passing karth, karth moves across the track towards vettel, maybe trying to control wheelspin. I assume he didn't know vettel was there. vettel had given karth a wide birth, which became not so wide. I'm also going to assume vettel didn't see karth jink right, so when vettel tucked in, karth caught his Tyre. a racing incident.
vettels comments were usual for a driver after a race..he is probably regretting it now.
gutted for Perez...awesome drive!

@63 and 64.

Yes the HRT car is a mobile chicane and backmarkers need to get out of the way but having said that, it's the leaders' responsibility to get past the backmarkers without difficulty. Clearly, Vettel slammed the door on N.Karthikeyan, believing there was enough space to negotiate thru the corner. If I was Vettel, I'd look in the mirrors a bit more often. To simply call another driver an idiot or 'cucumber' is unprofessional and childish. Button admitted to his fault and apologised, proving he's not 100% perfect all the time (unlike Hamilton, Vettel and to a certain degree Michael Schumacher). As double champ, Vettel should set the standards infront of his fellow racers but from what happened in Malaysia, he needs to grow up and accept humility. And isn't an offence to show an obscene gesture at any1 during a race????
IMO, the Red Bull organisation is a joke. It was obvious last year that Webber was not being favoured and only signed to drive for them this year because of lack of seats in the top teams. On to Helmut Marko and his brutal treatment of Alguersuari and Buemi. Yes they are not winners but they did what was required in the Toro Rosso. To say that he needed winners in a 6-7th placed constructor is too much to ask. Both of them are young, let them develop and become better drivers. But what makes me sick of this guy is that whenever Vettel does something wrong, Marko ALWAYS defends him. (Turkey 2010)

I don't hate Vettel, imo he's very gifted and probably the next greatest driver in F1 since the days of Schumi, Senna, Prost and Fittipaldi. But in my eyes, the best driver in F1 right now is Alonso. I say that because it's possible to win a championship in the best car. This year tho, the Ferrari is a 'truck' and what Alonso has done is give 100% to the cause, wrestled the car in every corner and deservedly leading the championship so far. You don't see Massa doing it.

@97 spot on.

If Narain Karthikeyan had moved out of the way of Vettel he would have been on the grass and could of crashed. The race is for all the drivers NOT just the chosen few! in my view it is Vettel who was the "IDIOT" If th is that good a driver he should have given Karthikeyan more room!

I've watched both his races live and in high definition, all's I can say is he's struggling a bit in a pig of a car, class is permanant, form is temporary, he'll be back winning before long.

You don't win two world titles being an average overrated driver, normally these overrated average drivers only win one, I'm looking at you mr scherzinger.