Sebastian Vettel Profile
Born: 03.07.87
Birthplace: Krebs, Germany
Team: Red Bull
2011 Car Number: 1
Last season: Champion.
Birthplace: Krebs, Germany
Team: Red Bull
2011 Car Number: 1
Last season: Champion.
Biography:
Sebastian Vettel was just 18 years old when he was first offered the chance of sitting at the wheel of a Formula One car – and not simply for a photo. BMW invited the gifted German young gun to participate in a test for the BMW Williams F1 Team late in the 2005 season.
This invitation didn’t come by incident. In 2004, the youngster from Heppenheim had secured the Formula BMW Germany title in superb style, winning 18 of the 20 rounds, thereby proving both his dominance and his skills.
In July 2006, the now 19-year-old was back behind the wheel of a Formula One car. This time however, he was offered the chance of testing a BMW Sauber F1.06. During these tests, Sebastian massively impressed the BMW Sauber F1 Team engineers. “This was obviously a special opportunity for me,” reveals the young German, “But I simply tried to take it easy and concentrate on my job. The whole day went really well.”
Following his fantastic Formula BMW Germany season, in 2005 Sebastian moved to the Formula 3 Euro Series to gather further single-seater racing experience. And in his second season, he secured his maiden win, making it to the top step of the podium at the Hockenheimring.
However, the step up to becoming a Friday tester in Formula One is the biggest Sebastian has had to cope with in his career so far. Now, he will have to face completely different tasks. He must support the team’s GP regulars, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, while making the right tyre choice and finding the perfect set-up for the respective venue, as well as gathering as much data as possible. Apart from that, Sebastian will travel to countries he doesn’t know and must adapt to circuits he has never raced on before. But this shouldn’t be too difficult a task for the young man who loves reading and analysing telemetry data, just as his contemporaries love gaming on their Playstations and computers.
Sebastian Vettel