Redbull does not give me the kicks anymore.
And that’s a lot coming from me considering the numerous highs that have come
my way courtesy them. I am Sebastian Vettel and I was inducted into the Redbull family
when I was 11 years old, after I joined their Junior Team programme. In Formula
1, I have spent 7 successful years with them, graduating from the feeder team to
the main team in a matter of 1 year. The most coveted trophy in the world of
motorsports has been mine for 4 straight years, some coming easy-peasy and some
going to the wire. The frequent formula changes in the sport had proved to be a
boon for me, with the newer rules in 2009 making aerodynamics the centre of the
F1 universe. It wasn’t only about the ICEs (engines) anymore; it was about how
well your car can stick to the track at turns at high speeds and how better
your car is at harnessing the energy being wasted at turns into KERS (Kinetic
Energy Recovery Systems). This new era in motorsports ushered in innovations
like exhaust blown diffusers and holes in the car floors. And of course, it
gave wings to a certain aero genius whose wet dreams had come true post
announcement of rule changes.
3rd WDC celebrations with the bosses
But the same formula changes acquired the
characteristics of an utterly inconvenient bane for me this season. 2014
escorted along with it the turbo-charged engines, with many other rules handing
the reins over to the ICEs(with a kickass turbo unit). Aerodynamics had a minor
role left in comparison to the limelight it had bathed in in the last few
years. Mind you, aero still rules the roost, how else will the cars go as fast
as they do? But it matters in a lesser impactful way as compared to Redbull’s
heyday. Anyway, the 2014 changes have brought forth a dry spell for Redbull’s
dominating ways. And more importantly, though I hate to admit it, it has pulled
down the curtain on my dominant, pole-to-victory races.
A strong sense of déjà vu takes me on
whenever I look at Daniel Riccardio, because he also has been promoted to the
main team in quite the same manner as I was. In 2013, when Mark announced he would
be leaving the team, the driver market had come alive like a fish market. There
were speculations that Kimi would come over to replace him, along with rumours
that I had refused to accept him as a teammate. Helmut stepped in finally and
dropped the cat out of the hat: Daniel would be promoted to the team from the
feeder team Toro Rosso. And he was. With great fanfare, the man with the
400-watt smile became my teammate. No offense, he is a decent guy.
I wonder how many selfies Daniel has
Well, Daniel, I hate to say, has outgunned
me on all fronts this year. He is the better driver in this car. I am having
difficulty adapting to Suzie and her feel, not to mention her jittery fronts. (Yes
of course I name my car!) People are under the assumption that a world champion
will be able to tame any car, but that is not the case at all. Every driver has
preferences as to what kind of car setup they want, more so in a Formula 1 car
where even the differential of 0.007 seconds between qualifying times is a huge
deal. It is all about finding that extra two-tenths to up your nearest rival. I
am used to the superbly designed aero beast that Redbull was until this year. I
need a strong front on the car, which this year’s design has not been able to
provide me with. I won’t argue or make any more reasons for my dismal
performance, and I want to give all due credit to Daniel. He clearly has got
the hang of it faster and better than I did.
Yes, I am spraying champagne. I am being nice.
The fact that Daniel has won races this
year and I haven’t has nothing to do with my moving to Ferrari next year. Yes,
I am donning the red overalls next year, probably alongside Kimi, if he
continues at Ferrari. The driver market has been buzzing with Fernando’s
increasing discontent at the Scuderia, and his alleged plans to move away next
year. He is taking a leap into the unknown and unproven by negotiating a move
to McLaren Honda next year. That, or Ron Dennis might seek revenge for 2007 and
leave him high-and-dry by not giving him a seat at all. In which case, our
Samurai might opt for a sabbatical. I think I want to move on to a new team for
the necessary change of air, as Lewis did successfully. And Michael
spearheading them since 1996, when they had been languishing in obscurity for
two decades, and finally steering them to winning ways in the 2000s has been an
inspiration for me. Ferrari are a team which every driver wants on his CV, and
although I love Redbull and I am grateful to them with all my heart, I want
Ferrari to feature on my resume as well.
Japanese GP
Suzuka has been a firm favourite with all
drivers I know, and it goes without saying that we adore coming to this place.
It is not just the track, which by the way is phenomenal, but the enthusiastic
fans and the love and respect that Formula 1 receives in this country. The
Japanese GP also takes place at the Fuji Speedway, but personally I prefer
Suzuka for the track layout. The high speed corners and especially the Esses at
the start are my favourite part of the circuit, it gives you an idea how good
your car is aerodynamically. 11 out of the track’s 18 corners are taken at
200kmph or higher. I have been winning here since the last four years, and pole
position is crucial because overtaking is difficult. At Suzuka, you don’t
compete with the other drivers, you compete with the track. Being a technical
circuit in spite of being a high speed one, Spa requires a high downforce setup
on the car. The safety car has featured quite a lot of times here, so chances
of that considerable.
Track Map: Suzuka, Japan
The main concern for the race at Suzuka was
the typhoon coming its way on the weekend. Phanfone, as it has been christened,
had gotten everyone worried because the race wouldn’t be held at all if
conditions worsened. Most importantly, it was going to be followed by strong
gusts of wind and torrential rains, which are both causes for red flags.
Phanfone looming over Japan
Friday Free Practice
One of my many firsts was snatched during
the first practice session when Max Verstappen stepped in for Jean-Eric at Toro
Rosso, our feeder team. At 17 years, he broke my record for being the youngest
driver to sit at the wheel of an F1 car and compete in a session. Being
Redbull’s young protégé like myself, I was a little more interested in him than
others. He did well, but retired with an engine failure. It was a pretty normal
FP1; we did some changes to the setup to extract as much downforce as possible
without compromising on the straightline speed. In FP2, I managed to post a
time worth a fifth place, though I think we had a car worth more than that. The
car felt good, but we were far behind the times the Mercs were clocking.
FP2 also featured quite a lot of
spectacular crashes and cars going the wrong way. We were just 7 minutes into
the session when Kamui found himself in the barriers in the Esses. Daniel took
a huge shunt into the final corner, when he lost control at the chicane and
after a lockup, slid through the gravel into the barriers. He was ok, though he
couldn’t continue further. In the last few minutes of the session, it started
raining, due to which the session was cut short by a few minutes.
Gravel visit for Daniel
Saturday Free Practice and Qualifying
FP3 was not so memorable because there was
nothing to remember about it, it ended before it got started. I was 35 minutes
into the session and was asked to pit with a technical issue. First corner
before the Esses saw Lewis crash into the barriers after he ran wide and flew
off a kerb, passed the asphalt runoff and found himself land into the
untameable gravel area. I came out to be 15th fastest, and we didn’t
know what to expect for qualifying as we could do fast timed laps in FP3.
Over to qualifying. Almost everyone had
already done installation laps and set times before the team sent out me and
Daniel. By that time, Lewis had grabbed top spot from Nico, and their
scampering for the pole was well and truly on. It makes me reminisce about the
Redbull era. On my first run, I post a time which slots me in 8th (Daniel
9th). We returned to the garage for some more tinkering, and did not
come onto the battlefield for the rest of Q1. Q1 sees the usual relegates going
out of the shootout. Q2 again sees us going out 5 minutes into the session, and
the car slots into 9th place (Daniel 10th). We are not
getting a lot of pace from the car, we need to be higher. With 3 minutes left
to go in Q2, Daniel and I were fighting 8 other cars to avoid the relegation
zone. 3 minutes left means we will have only one chance at posting a better time.
Will we make it to Q3? Yes we do, as I rank 7th and Daniel beats my
time by a few tenths and slots in 6th. It is close, because by the
time Q2 is done and dusted I am 10th and perilously close to the
dumping zone.
Q3 sees me on the track one minute into it.
The first lap I post is not so good, worth only a 9th position. Is
this all the pace we have? Because during practice it certainly felt we were second
only to the mercs. Well, I don’t improve a lot and remain 9th at the
end of the session. What a bummer. Daniel outperforms me. Again. Dang! At the
front, Nico beats Lewis to pole by 0.197 seconds.
Looking on at Suzie after qualifying
Race
Phanfone the super typhoon strikes and the
race day begins wet like an infant’s nappy. We do our parade laps and duly wave
to the amazing fans here in Japan from under a huge umbrella. I witness a lot
of support for me in the stands and that feels good; Japan is one place where
my dominant wins weren’t booed at. After the parade, we line up on the grid as
our pole positions indicate. The race is to be started behind a safety car, as
the heavy rains have created rivers and streams all over the track. And Suzuka being
a bumpy circuit, the puddles are worse here.
I adore the Japanese
There is no warmup lap as dictated by logic,
and the five red lights go out at the appointed time, as dictated by Charlie.
There is lot of water on the track, and the danger of aquaplaning ever looms. We
are one lap into the race when Marshall spins at the first corner and visits
the sandbox. He gets back on track with the marshals’ assistance. The race is
red-flagged at the end of second lap as the rain continues to pour, and
visibility deteriorates. We return to the pitlane with our baggage and wait for
the weather to improve. I hop out of the car and go into the garage to speak
with the boys.
Lined up behind the SC for the start
It seems no points will be awarded if the
racing does not resume. Two laps need to be completed to earn half points and
75% of total laps to earn full points in bad conditions. As the race was
red-flagged before the second lap was completed, it means zero points for the
effort. The rain comes down a few notches and we scurry out behind the safety
car to start lap 3. I climb up to 8th place in the space of a lap
after Fernando stopped with a technical issue on his car. The conditions were
still bad, but the officials were getting mixed reviews on the need for the
safety car on track. On one hand, drivers wanting to defend their positions on
track wanted the safety car on and duly reported ‘spray and poor visibility’.
(You can’t overtake under a safety car situation, and you have to hold position.)
On the other hand, drivers wanting to attack and overtake wanted the safety car
out, repeatedly requesting so over the radio. I was still sceptical, as the
visibility was indeed poor.
Pitlane restart after first red flag
On lap 9, the safety car retreats into the
pitlane and we get to racing. The Spoon curve tests me on lap 10 as I run wide
but manage to hold on to the kerbs. Kevin of Mclaren is ahead of me, and I
concentrate all my energies into taking that car ASAP. I get Suzie alongside him
into the hairpin, but he gets the racing line. Kevin eventually dives into the
pits for taking on the intermediate tires (ones used on slightly wet tracks)
and as do some others. I am discussing with the guys whether to go for inters
myself, because the track surely is drying and I will get better laps with
inters. In all the pitting drama, I climb up to 4th. That position
is short-lived as I go for a tire change myself. The late change pays off as I come
out ahead of Daniel in 7th place, and rapidly looming large over
Felipe’s gearbox. In the matter of a couple of laps, I take Felipe on the
hairpin through a very narrow gap. Phew, that was close! I am now in 5th
place. There is clear air ahead and I race on, and by the time Daniel takes a
dig at Felipe I am nearly 3 seconds ahead of them.
Meanwhile, the rain is back, and it starts drizzling
slightly. Few laps and I am all over the back of Valtteri’s Williams. I tackle
him at the same place as his teammate -at the hairpin and around the outside-
for 4th place. I feel good about it, and most importantly Daniel is
behind me. I look set to beat him fair and square. That will shut the haters
up. Suzie is performing well at the wet circuit, mostly owing to the fact that
she can take the corners better than most cars. Thank you, Adrian Newey. Daniel
though is not far behind as he has overtaken Felipe and is now targeting
Valtteri. I am in clear air again and can run the race on my own terms for now.
Third-placed Jenson is 14 seconds ahead of
me in 3rd place, and he is next on my bucket list. On lap 20, the
guys tell me I am the fastest on track, lapping one second faster than the
mercs. By lap 22, I am 11 seconds off Jenson. And Daniel is close behind me. I
lap a second faster than anyone(except Daniel) for the next few laps, and
rapidly rope in Jenson to a 8.2 seconds distance. Am I trying to get to the
third place as fast as I can or I am keeping Daniel at bay? Both, but
predominantly it is Daniel. By lap 28, I am no longer lapping as good as
earlier, and I decide it is time to pit before Daniel does and undercuts me.
The team promptly calls me in and I go out to rejoin in 5th place
behind Daniel. Crucially, both the Williams are behind me. Daniel is yet to
pit, but I am keen on making sure he doesn’t outdo my undercut. Rocky (my race
engineer) calms me down by assuring that the undercut is quite powerful and I don’t
need to push so hard.
Jenson pits on lap 31, and looks set to
join ahead of me. But somehow McLaren botches up his stop and he lines up
behind me. That came in too easy. Suzie sets new fastest laps in her new shoes,
and by lap 35 I am 3.4 seconds ahead of him. Daniel is still ahead of me as he
hasn’t pitted yet. Is he even going to pit? Or has team strategy handed him
this race as well? It seems he is waiting for the track to dry and continue
with inters. Now I want the rains to come lashing! And they do. I am gleeful as
Daniel does pit at the end of lap 36. He rejoins behind Jenson, and I smile
maniacally behind my helmet. The rain is falling harder now, and the spray
makes it difficult to see ahead. On lap 39, I experience a heart-in-my-mouth
moment as I slide wide and go into the gravel in the Esses. I recover and
maintain 3rd but lose ground to Jenson as he is now only 2 seconds
behind me. More crucially, Daniel is close behind Jenson too.
Jenson and Daniel closing in behind me
The rain is now falling harder and everyone
on track is on intermediate tires. I ask the guys if we should change over to
wet and they reply that we should probably bide some time. On lap 41, Daniel
overtakes Jenson and brings the fight to me. Almost. Adrian Sutil has crashed his
Sauber at the end of Dunlop and the safety car comes out on lap 44. I pit for
new inters on lap 45, trusting Daniel will do the same. I come out behind
Daniel, and it turns out he is going to stay out on old tires for now. Rocky
comes on to tell me that Jules Bianchi has had an accident at Dunlop, where Adrian
crashed his car. An ambulance comes on track and the guys tell me it is
serious. In a short while, the race is red-flagged and we are all called back
to parc ferme, which means the race will not be resumed.
Adrian Sutil's Sauber at Dunlop
I finish 3rd, because in spite
of him being ahead of me on lap 45 when the race was red-flagged, the result is
determined from the order on the penultimate lap. And that means I got the
podium behind Lewis and Nico. In the podium room, we ask each other of what
happened to Jules, and the atmosphere is very subdued. We get done with the
necessary podium ceremony, though the champagne is not sprayed.
Jules being taken out by doctors
It was a good result considering I get
beaten by Daniel every now and then. But it did not matter in the face of what
happened with Jules. It turns out that he aquaplaned into the crane that came
on to lift out Adrian’s car on Dunlop. He was unconscious when he was driven to
the nearest medical centre and while I am writing this he has got operated for
severe head injuries and is currently in the ICU. I wish him all the best. Get
well soon Jules, we miss you!
A very subdued podium
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