SEBASTIAN VETTEL: “IT WAS NOT THE BEST SESSION FOR ME”

Sebastian Vettel will start sixth on the grid for the United States Grand Prix but admitted it was not a great qualifying session for the Scuderia Ferrari driver.

Sebastian Vettel admitted that the qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix did not go well for him or his Scuderia Ferrari team after being forced to settle for sixth on the grid at the Circuit of the Americas.

The German was disheartened to the gap to those in front of him, with Vettel’s best Q3 lap 1.359 seconds down on Lewis Hamilton’s pole position time, and 0.237 seconds down on team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who will start fifth.

“Qualifying was not so good, hopefully the race will go better,” said Vettel. “Surely we can try and look at different things, learn from today, go forward, and for sure we are not pleased with the gap to the cars ahead.

“It was not the best session for me: overall it was ok, the car felt fine, but in the end we were not just quick enough. For sure in Q3 I could have done a slightly better lap, but at the end of the day obviously we are missing a bit compared to the cars in front, so I think tomorrow could be a different day. Probably in my last lap I was a bit too aggressive.”

Vettel admits to being somewhat confused to why the team are not as competitive in the United States as they were last time out in Japan, and as such might need a clever strategy to get ahead of some of their rivals.

“There remains a bit of a question mark at this point, at least on why we were so competitive in fast corners in Suzuka and here we are missing out; but then again we are missing out across all sectors,” said Vettel. “For tomorrow we’ll see, there’s always a chance to outsmart the people but I think we have to react on the fly.

“The strategy is set for the beginning, in terms the tyres to start the race with, but we kept some new tyre sets, so we’ll see. It could be an interesting race: tyre degradation is always important, it could be playing a big role tomorrow.”

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Sebastian Vettel Discusses Defending Race Of Champions Title

The Race of Champions is heading to the United States for the first time in its history, and Formula One ace Sebastian Vettel has spoken out about defending his ROC title.

When the Race of Champions comes to Miami in January, Sebastian Vettel will be on hand as the defending winner.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver captured the title at last year’s event in London and Vettel,during a conversation with Motorsport, spoke on winning the event last year, and how excited he is to defend his crown.

“I’m very happy to have finally won the individual Race Of Champions title last year in London’s Olympic Stadium and I look forward to defending my title at ROC in Miami,” he said.

“All the drivers are strong, and the top US drivers from NASCAR and IndyCar will certainly be extra motivated to win in front of their home fans now that the event is being held in their country for the first time.

“This will also be the first time ROC has been held in a baseball stadium so I’m curious to discover the new track layout. But as always it’s the same track and identical cars for everyone so only driver skill makes the difference.

2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, a Florida native, and veteran NASCAR driver Kurt Busch are slated to be part of the 2017 field.

Watch highlights from Vettel’s winning year at the Race of Champions:

The two-day event is divided between solo and group competition. The first half is the Race of Champions itself, with drivers competing for individual glory like Vettel won last year. On Sunday, drivers pair up in teams for the ROC Nations Cup, bidding by nationality for the title of “World’s Fastest Nation.”

Organizers have also spoken about the decision to bring the event stateside.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the Race Of Champions to the United States at last,” said ROC President Fredrik Johnsson. “Miami’s Marlins Park is a wonderful venue and it’s our first time inside a baseball stadium. Rest assured we will put together a truly memorable event for fans of fast cars and even faster drivers.

“American race fans are passionate about their sport and I’m sure they will enjoy the great competition and shows we put on.”

Previous venues included England’s Wembley Stadium, the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing and the Stade de France in Paris. There has never been a ROC champion from the U.S., but that would certainly be a way to commemorate America’s first time as a host nation.

They’ll just have to get through Vettel first.

Red Bull and Force India oppose 'halo' device

Force India joined Red Bull on Tuesday in opposing plans to introduce a proposed 'halo' cockpit protection device in Formula One next season.

Red Bull had the device on their car at the start of testing at Silverstone, becoming the second team to try it out after Ferrari, but team principal Christian Horner said he was not a fan of the "inelegant solution".

"I'd prefer there to be more research time taken to do the job properly, rather than rushing something through that may have other consequences," he told reporters after Sunday's British Grand Prix.

"I certainly wouldn't vote in favour at the moment."

Force India deputy principal Bob Fernley told Sky Sports television on Tuesday, with rain teeming down at Silverstone, that he agreed with Horner.

"I believe that it's too hasty. We need to do a lot more work to understand that the halo isn't going to create other problems, which I think it will do," he said.

"I think we should take our time and get the right solution and then introduce it."

The concept, more like a wishbone with a central pillar supporting a protective loop above the driver's head, has been promoted by Ferrari and Mercedes, whereas Red Bull prefer their own 'aeroscreen'.

The latter device, more attractive to some, did not perform as well in testing by the governing body and the halo is now the main focus.

The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is keen to introduce it next year but that would require a unanimous vote by top teams, including Red Bull, as a change to the technical regulations.

The FIA could impose it on safety grounds, however, while approval for 2018 would require only a majority vote.

Ferrari tested a second version of the halo last Friday in British Grand Prix practice but four times world champion Sebastian Vettel, who did a lap with it, said visibility remained a concern.

The device was modified from an earlier version, removing some weight and reducing the risk of the driver's head striking it in the event of an impact.

Improving head protection has become a priority after the deaths last year of Briton Justin Wilson, hit by debris in an IndyCar crash, and Frenchman Jules Bianchi, who suffered ultimately fatal injuries at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

The halo aims to protect the driver's head and deflect large debris and objects, such as bouncing wheels.

Sebastian Vettel confident after pushing Mercedes in F1 qualifying

Sebastian Vettel said he was pleased with qualifying third in Canada despite just missing out on beating the Mercedes drivers.

Sebastian Vettel said he was pleased with qualifying third in Canada despite just missing out on beating the Mercedes drivers.

Against expectations, Vettel was only a tenth of a second off the Mercedes pace when it mattered in Q3.

“I think going into qualifying I thought it was possible,” he said. “As a driver you always feel that there’s a little bit more. I think on my last lap I was very happy with the lap in general, I was maybe a bit greedy out of 10 and maybe not greedy enough into turn six, but there wasn’t an awful lot to grab otherwise, as I said, very happy.

“I wanted to get below the 1m13s mark because then I knew it would be very close with the Mercedes. I did that but just by one hundredth so a little bit was missing, but overall I think we have a great car, we did a step, so I’m happy with how the weekend has turned out. We did a step or so overnight so I felt in general very comfortable and enjoyed qualifying a lot. I brushed the Wall of Champions so done that, don’t have to do that tomorrow, so we should be all set.”

Regarding Ferrari's turbo upgrade for this race, he said: “I think we expected to bring performance to the car and that’s what it did. I think this is probably a track where it’s quite important. There are a lot of straights so yeah, I think that’s why we decided to bring it here as well and as I said, it worked and it should help us also tomorrow, not just today.”

Sebastian Vettel lets rip at Daniil Kvyat over Russian Grand Prix crash

President Vladimir Putin turned up too late to witness the azure skies over Sochi being turned a dark shade of purple by the foul mouth of a four-times world champion driven to fury by the haphazard intervention of the young man supposed to be the local hero.

Vettel: “I expect an apology”.

Daniil Kvyat carried the hopes of a nation but left his home race last night with a clamour for apologies coming from even his own team-mate after triggering a first-lap crash with a moment of lunacy.

Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team principal, admitted that Kvyat “destroyed” the Russian Grand Prix for his team. Daniel Ricciardo, the team-mate who plummeted from fifth on the grid to finish 11th, said simply: “I expect an apology, put it that way.”

Sebastian Vettel did not hang around the Sochi Olympic Park long enough for Kvyat to offer an explanation as to why he hit the Ferrari star not once but twice in quick succession.

The first time was a nudge through the second corner, but the second contact was decisive as Vettel careered into the wall going through the 170mph, semi-circular third corner. Ricciardo was caught up in the melee.

Oh, the language. Vettel is as articulate as they come and well-versed in the art of English swearing and, boy, did he let rip.

“Somebody hit me in the f***ing rear at turn two, and then somebody hit me in the f***ing rear again in turn three, for f***’s sake,” he said. “Honestly, what the f*** are we doing here?” You get the gist.

Daniil Kvyat before the race.

Vettel wasted no time marching to the Red Bull pitwall to remonstrate with Horner. They go back a long way; Horner mentored Vettel to his four titles and knows well the German’s temper is occasionally highly-charged.

“Seb said hello and made his thoughts well known and all I could do was apologise to him,” Horner said.

Perhaps Kvyat was too pumped up for his home race. He was not the only one: Kvyat’s name fluttered on a fan’s flag above the name of Ayrton Senna, who died exactly 22 years ago yesterday. Perhaps the flag was a tribute to the great Brazilian, but it could be considered a misjudgment of 22-year-old Kvyat’s potential.

Certainly Kvyat is occasionally quick and occasionally brave, as he showed when he upset Vettel at the previous grand prix in China when he threw his car down the inside of Vettel’s Ferrari. However, this time, the opprobrium of two fellow drivers was compounded by a ten-second stop-go penalty, which meant that Kvyat was 15th of the 18 finishers - not much of a reason to wave that flag, then.

All season, we have waited for the Ferrari revival and yet it does not come. Vettel was already on the back foot after having to take a five-place penalty for a changed gearbox, but was in combative mood, starting from seventh and aiming for a podium finish. As it was, the honours had to be carried by Kimi Raikkonen, his team-mate, whose third place was the 700th podium finish recorded by Ferrari in F1.

There was one other result of note: two McLarens finished in the points - Fernando Alonso in sixth and Jenson Button in tenth - for the first time since Hungary in July last year.

Sebastian Vettel: F1 risks turning people off

Formula One risks abandoning its roots with “overcomplicated” rules and could see interest in the sport fall even further if Lewis Hamilton’s dominance continues, Sebastian Vettel has warned.

In an outspoken attack on the eve of the new season made on his personal website, Vettel claimed F1 had become too lost in technology and the focus should return to the drivers.

Vettel himself was accused of turning people off the sport when he won four straight championships from 2010 to 2013. This intervention almost exactly mirrors criticism of his reign made a few years ago by Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and others.

Vettel won four straight championships from 2010 to 2013

But Hamilton and Mercedes’ dominance has been unprecedented in its scale. They have won 32 of the last 38 races and with very few rule changes over the winter, the team head into this season as overwhelming favourites, even if there are hopes Vettel’s Ferrari have stepped up their challenge.

While Vettel was cautious on his team’s chances, he was remarkably frank on the state of the sport.

"In short, I think the sport should be in the spotlight and it should be about which driver is the fastest," the four-time champion said.

Vettel has been remarkably frank on the state of the sport

"Today the car plays an important role, like it did in the past. But we shouldn't get lost in over-complicated rules. Our audience has to be able to identify with our cars again. At the moment F1 is just too complex and we're lacking sound.

"The dominance of Mercedes in the past two years took away a lot of excitement for the fans. Plus the new rules focus too much on details. I think we have to be careful not to lose the roots of motor racing and I certainly hope the cars of the future will be more within their grasp."

Formula One has been trapped in a debate about what it should be for years, but this was dramatically heightened with the introduction of more efficient, but quieter, hybrid engines at the start of 2014.

Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s chief executive, has been seeking to implement new rules for 2017 which make the cars significantly faster, but they appear to have been watered down amid endless bickering among the teams.

The main hope for an exciting season is that Ferrari, with English technical director James Allison at the helm, can bridge the gap to Mercedes, mounting a proper challenge on Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s supremacy.

With one eye on the company’s flotation on the stock exchange, Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari president, has made optimistic predictions of the season ahead, but Vettel was more guarded.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is confident they can challenge Mercedes

"It's no secret that we are not still where we want to be, and there are things we need to improve," he said. “We know that our package was not strong enough to close in on Mercedes or overtake them, but we are working on it and we are on the right track."

Vettel also suggested that he could spend the rest of his career at Ferrari. The 28-year-old joined the Italian team from Red Bull at the start of 2015.

"I'm very comfortable where I am now and I don't think about other options," he added.

It could be my last team. I'm that kind of person who doesn't jump ship after just one year. I've never done such a thing before, in no area of life.

"I'm happy where I am at the moment. We have a common goal which we want to achieve together. Ferrari is special to me. Even as a small kid I dreamed about being a race driver for Ferrari in the future."

The first pre-season test starts in Barcelona on Feb 21, with the first race in Melbourne on March 20.

Melbourne Formula One grand prix 2016: pundits tip closer race but no joy for Ricciardo.

Former world champion Damon Hill and fellow driver-turned-TV pundit Martin Brundle expect this year's Formula One title fight will be closer than the last two Mercedes runaways.

Hill and Brundle predict Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park will see a further resurgence by Ferrari, which last year vaulted from fourth to second in the rankings.

That's the good news from the leading English-language F1 broadcast analysts, who are mainstays of the coverage seen in Australia on Fox Sports.

The bad news is that neither Hill nor Brundle believes Australia's Daniel Ricciardo will win a race this year because they think his Red Bull Racing team will again be off the front-running pace.

While they anticipate Mercedes' dynamic duo of reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and runner-up Nico Rosberg will again be the drivers to beat, Hill and Brundle expect their superiority to be reduced.

They are expecting - and certainly hoping - that the pace-setting speed of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in pre-season testing will translate to closer competition at Albert Park.

"There have definitely been some doubts that Mercedes has quite the big advantage that they might have had," said Hill, whose victory in the inaugural 1996 Melbourne GP anchored his F1 world title that year. "So I think Ferrari has definitely turned the wick up, which is good. Could be a surprise in Melbourne."

Brundle, who raced with distinction in F1 for more than a decade until switching to broadcasting in 1997, also tips Ferrari to have made a big enough gain to push Mercedes.

"Ferrari looked good [in testing]," he said. "It'll definitely be closer and let's hope they're right with them."

They base their hopeful prognostications on the fact that Vettel was quickest in pre-season testing, with Raikkonen also among the front-runners.

But they set their times with the softest tyres, while Hamilton and Rosberg were restricted to race rubber and logged by far the most laps in the two tests at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona.

Hill and Brundle agree that Vettel - the only non-Mercedes winner last year, with three victories in his first season with Ferrari after being overshadowed by Ricciardo at Red Bull in 2014 - can challenge Hamilton and Rosberg if his car is up to it. "Definitely," Hill declared. "He's capable of taking the fight to them."

Added Brundle: "We can only hope that Ferrari have really aced it. If they have, Vettel will take the fight right up to Hamilton and Rosberg."

However, Brundle - who in nearly 20 years as a commentator/analyst has become the "Voice of F1" - warns that the Britain-based German supersquad's fault-free testing is ominous. 

"Mercedes were obviously relentlessly fast and reliable," he said. "When you can run both your drivers every day because the cars are going so fast and so far, you know you have yourself some kind of incredible race car."

Despite rating him as one of the best in F1, Hill doesn't give Ricciardo much chance of repeating his three upset wins over Mercedes in 2014.

He is convinced that even if the West Australian's new Red Bull racer is a better car, he will still be hamstrung by the Renault power unit that stymied him last year, with the latest version (rebadged TAG Heuer as part of the team's reluctant renewal) again starting the season behind the Mercedes and Ferrari engines.

"I think it's going to be hard for him this year, I really do," Hill said. "I can't see Red Bull winning any races. They just haven't got the grunt in their power unit.

"Something's going to have to change radically for them to be at the front this season because there are too many good Mercedes and Ferrari-engined cars in front of them [including Toro Rosso, RBR's Ferrari-powered junior team]."

While Brundle also doubts Ricciardo will win any races, he won't be surprised if he and his closely matched Russian teammate Daniil Kvyat re-establish Red Bull Racing as the third best team ahead of Williams. 

"They seem more confident and it seems they'll get better again as the year unfolds, so let's hope Daniel keeps the smile on his face because we all enjoy that," he said. 

Hill rates Ricciardo just outside his top five drivers in F1 - world champions Hamilton (2008/14/15), Vettel (2010/11/12/13), Raikkonen (2007), and McLaren's Fernando Alonso (2005/06) and Jenson Button (2009).

"Only because of his equipment - and he hasn't won a championship," he said. "Daniel Ricciardo is a superstar. He always gets the best out of what he has, races hard.

"It'd be nice if he got a crack at a championship title fight." Hill added: "There are five really good drivers in F1 - you know, top, top drivers. Anyone with multiple championships like Sebastian is a top driver, along with Alonso, Jenson, Lewis obviously and Kimi's looking like he's still up for it."

Ferrari delayed work on its 2016 F1 car for 2015 push

Ferrari delayed work on its 2016 Formula 1 car to allow it to fully develop the race-winning SF15-T last season.

The Italian team bounced back from a winless 2014 campaign to emerge as Mercedes' closest challenger and finish second in the constructors' championship, with Sebastian Vettel taking three wins.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is confident the delay will not have an impact on it providing a stern challenge to world champion team Mercedes next term.

"Maurizio [Arrivabene, team principal] will tell you we delayed some things to allow for the 2015 car to be finished," said Marchionne.

"Hopefully he will not bitch about this. We pushed the start of some of the work on the '16 cars on the chassis, delayed it a bit.

"But we have had adequate time and adequate financial resources to do the right thing given the rules.

 Secrets of the Ferrari revival

"So I'm confident we will give Mercedes a run for their money.

"We approached the 16 car with a very clear idea and very clear interpretation.

"It is incredibly unlikely that the car will not offer Mercedes a proper challenge.

"For me to determine whether it will win or not would be very gutsy.

"I have no excuses to give you this year, in the sense that we started developing the car at the proper time."

Mercedes won 16 of the 19 races in 2015 as it won the constructors' championship with four races to spare, while Hamilton defended his title with three races left.

Marchionne concedes Mercedes is still a team to be "afraid of" but he believes the outfit has developed a greater respect for Ferrari following its challenge in 2015.

"They are competitors to be afraid of because Mercedes is a company which the suitable financial resources to properly manage the races of 2016," he said.

"They have a high level of know-how so they are not to be underestimated.

"They made huge progress in 2015, so I'm certain their car will be enormously improved for 2016.

"We respect them, they are competitors, but we are not afraid of the battle on the race track.

"I remember at the start with [Mercedes boss Dieter] Zetsche, in spite the fact we are friends, he had a bit of arrogance about Ferrari.

"They lost a bit of that but not too much because they won the championship.

"If you talk to him now, I think he now respects Ferrari a little bit more

"The only way to get respect is to gain it on the track with results."

F1: Vettel not ready to make bold title targets for 2016

Four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel has urged caution as Ferrari heads into the 2016 season as a potential title candidate.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne this week issued a bold target of nothing less than overall victory in 2016, beginning with the race win in Australia in March.

Vettel, Ferrari's top driver and the only competitor in 2015 able to win races against dominant Mercedes, agrees that the Maranello team made big progress last year.

"Ferrari and myself were prepared at the beginning for a difficult year," Vettel wrote in a column for the Munich newspaper TZ. "No one expected three victories.

"But almost more important is the consistency that we had, showing that we are on the right track.

"Nevertheless, there is still much to do and we must not forget where we began. But things that were a little rough in the beginning have now become smoother.

"I think that, slowly and step by step, everything is coming together," Vettel added.

"Of course," the former Red Bull driver continued, "the temptation to now think big for next year is very high, but we must not forget all the little steps on the way.

"Last winter there was a big upheaval in the team with a lot of new people and many changing their position as well, so it is a process that takes time.

"Hopefully we will have a better year in 2016, but it is still much too early to make forecasts."

Button to fly flag for England in RoC

Jenson Button will carry home hopes at the 2015 London Race of Champions, it is announced.



Jenson Button has become the latest F1 driver to sign up for the annual Race of Champions later this month, flying the flag for Team England on home soil in London. 

The 2009 world champion has competed at the end-of-season RoC on four previous occasions, though hasn't done so since 2011. However, to celebrate the event's return to British soil at London's former Olympic stadium venue in Stratford, Button will be one of four English drivers flying the flag for home fans. 

Looking to go further than his semi-final placing of 2009, Button will be teamed with sportscar racer Alex Buncombe in one of two English line-ups being entered for the Nations' Cup, with Jason Plato and another unnamed driver pairing up for the other. 

Button is the latest F1 driver to commit to the RoC this year, joining Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Nico Hulkenberg in representing the championship alongside representatives from rallying, IndyCar and MotoGP. 

This year's Race of Champions will take place between the final two rounds of the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

McLaren F1 driver Jenson Button joins 2015 Race of Champions field

McLaren driver Jenson Button has become the latest big Formula 1 name to join the line-up for this month's Race of Champions event in London.

The 2009 F1 world champion will be competing in his fifth RoC, but his first since '11.

His best performance came in 2009 when he reached the semi-final of the individual event, as well as the Nations Cup for Great Britain in tandem with Andy Priaulx.

On this occasion Button will partner 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series champion Alex Buncombe in one of the two English teams, with the other comprising two-time British Touring Car champion Jason Plato and a yet-to-be-named team-mate.

Button said: "I can't wait to be back at the Race Of Champions again - and especially to be racing at home at London's former Olympic Stadium.

"It is always a very special event with a good atmosphere. You're racing against guys from your own series, plus others from all over the world.

"We get to meet friends old and new from the different forms of motorsport so we enjoy our time both on and off the track.

"It's always a lot of fun, but everyone wants to put on a good show for the fans - and of course we only pretend to be taking it easy before giving it everything when we're sitting in the car on the line.

"I look forward to partnering Alex Buncombe in the RoC Nations Cup too.

"Germany had an annoying habit of beating us at Wembley in 2007 and 2008, so it's about time we made it all the way now we'll be racing on the other side of London."

The 35-year-old is now the sixth F1 driver to sign up to this year's RoC at the Olympic Stadium on November 20-21, joining Roman Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel.

2015 RACE OF CHAMPIONS LINE-UP SO FAR

Alex Buncombe
Jenson Button
David Coulthard
Mick Doohan
Romain Grosjean
Nico Hulkenberg
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Tom Kristensen
Jorge Lorenzo
Felipe Massa
Nelson Piquet Jr
Jason Plato
Daniel Ricciardo
Petter Solberg
Sebastian Vettel
Susie Wolff.

On this day: September 14, 2008 – Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest Grand Prix winner ever

A day after becoming the youngest driver to take pole position in Formula One history, a 21-year-old Sebastian Vettel became the youngest Grand Prix winner ever by topping the podium in Monza on this day, seven years ago.

The German finished 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen in wet weather conditions. The result was also a team best for Toro Rosso, being the only podium finish it ever achieved.

Vettel said after the win: “P1 was still on the board, P1 and a plus and I was leading by quite a bit, and I thought f***, if you finish the race you will be winning – I apologise – but you know, it was unbelievable.”

Other memorable events on this day...

1968: Jimmy Ellis wins the WBA heavyweight title by beating Floyd Patterson in the 15th round in Stockholm, Sweden.

1987: Ivan Lendl wins his sixth slam by defeating Mats Wilander 6-7(7), 6-0, 7-6(4), 6-4 in the US Open final.

2002: Tim Montgomery of USA sets a world record in the 100m, clocking 9.78s at the Grand Prix Final in Paris.

2006: Tiger Woods’ five-tournament winning streak finally ends when Shaun Micheel knocks him out in the first round of the World Match Play Championship.

From jeers to cheers: Formula One is in love with Sebastian Vettel again

Two years ago Sebastian Vettel was booed at Monza. The then-Red Bull driver had just claimed his third win at the iconic Pista Magica. But the German was an outsider, a rival winning on Ferrari’s home turf.

He was also the villain of Formula One, vilified by fans all over the world for his actions in that year’s Malaysian Grand Prix when he stole victory from team-mate Mark Webber, the dominance he exerted over the sport only further feeding fans’ disenchantment with him.

But this year, standing on the second step of the podium garbed in scarlet, the crowd was chanting his name.

“Alonso, Alonso,” they had screamed two years ago, reserving only catcalls for Vettel.

But now Formula One’s Temple of Speed reverberated with chants of “Sebastian, Sebastian.” Once the sport’s blue-eyed boy, then pantomime villain, Vettel was back to being the hero of the piece.

Now driving for Ferrari, the Tifosi were always going to shower him with adulation at Monza. But warmth they heaped on him is reflective of a broader shift in the way Vettel has been perceived since he made the move to the sport’s most legendary team.

Formula One is in love with Vettel again.

Where once his dominance turned off all but the most die-hard followers of the sport – and even they found it wearying – fans are now turning to the German to create upsets in a season dominated by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, ironically, in almost Vettel-esque style.

After four years of title-winning dominance on the trot, put down by many largely to the superiority of the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull, people relished watching him struggle last year, failing to come to grips with a car designed to radically different regulations than the ones he had spent so many years honing his driving style to make the most of.

But this year Vettel, in a car not quite a match for the Mercedes but capable of taking the fight to the silver cars, is the underdog and fans are rooting for him to take on the established order.

Vettel too has fallen back in love with Formula One. The 28-year-old is a keen enthusiast of the sport’s history. Driving for the most storied name in the sport, joining the pantheon of Ferrari greats and following in his boyhood hero Michael Schumacher’s footsteps seems to have rekindled his passion for Formula One after a year of disillusionment.

“There are a lot of fairy tales about Ferrari and how it feels to drive a red car and so on and I can only confirm all these fairy tales,” Vettel told the team’s website after his first outing in a Formula One Ferrari at Fiorano. “It is a true legend that exists and it feels really, really, special to become part of that.”

“Looking back to the years when I was 11, 12 years old, trying to look over the fence and trying to see a glimpse of Michael running on the track. Today I was on the track and I saw the Tifosi around.”

That he is driving for Ferrari and the circumstances he joined the team in are also major reasons for Vettel’s newfound popularity.

Ferrari is the oldest and most successful team on the grid. It is the only marque that has competed in every season since the Formula One World Championship was formed in 1950 and is very much a part of the fabric of the sport.

But he joined the team at a difficult time, when the downward spiral the Scuderia had seemed locked into over the past few years culminated in the squad’s first winless season in over two decades.

He has very much been cast in the role of Ferrari saviour, the man tasked with returning the Prancing Horse to greatness, a champion fighting the odds, devoted to the pursuit of restoring the lost lustre to a storied name.

It makes for a very engaging storyline.

If he succeeds, his popularity will only soar. It won’t erase the ‘bad-boy’ incidents that have blotted his copybook. But nursing Ferrari back to health, like Schumacher did, would put his claim to greatness beyond dispute.

F1 » Vettel not expecting priority Ferrari status

Sebastian Vettel says his stronger performances in 2015 shouldn't mean he gets preferential treatment from the Ferrari team.

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Vettel not expecting priority Ferrari status

Sebastian Vettel says it is not worth Ferrari prioritising him over Kimi Raikkonen in the team unless he is in clear contention for the world title. 

The German got the gap down to leader Lewis Hamilton to 42 points following his second win of the season in Hungary, though this has now swelled to 67 points on the back of his failure to score last time out in Belgium.

Despite this, Vettel never felt as though he was a clear contender for the title and unless he is, Ferrari shouldn't 'worry' about channelling its resources to him over the newly re-signed Raikkonen, despite the substantial 78 point gap between them.

“If you make a new part, you do it two times at least, that's the way it has to be. I think if you're racing for the championship and at some point later in the season it is clear that only one car is racing for the championship, then it is clear what you have to do.

“Where we are now, if you look at also the gap that I mentioned, the best thing we can do is to go racing, try to win and worry about ourselves and not look at others too much.”

F1: Lewis Hamilton Takes Pole Position at Belgium GP

Mercedes AMG Petronas was able to get back in the groove with another front-row lockout in qualifying for the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix. Today’s Grand Prix takes place from Spa-Francorchamps and has a start time of 8 a.m. ET, and can be watched online through free live stream via the link below.

It marked Hamilton’s 10th pole from 11 races this season, and with it, an unassailable lead in the race for the pole position trophy – a title which Rosberg won previous year.

With Ricciardo and Perez both pitting for new tyres after eight laps, Rosberg climbed into second place, eight seconds behind team-mate Hamilton, with Sebastian Vettel third for Ferrari.

It sent out an emphatic message to his Mercedes team-mate who left the track on Friday night believing he was “one step ahead” of Hamilton after dominating practice.

Hamilton set a new personal best time of 1m 54.315s on lap 25 to extend his advantage over Rosberg to more than five seconds.

Rosberg, who had led the championship at the same stage previous year, is 21 points behind Hamilton with nine races remaining including Sunday’s. “But as I said coming in to this weekend I want to get those pole positions and translate them in to wins, so hopefully today is the beginning of that”.

He added: “I have been working really hard on the starts to make sure I understood all the facts”. Hamilton ended the qualifying session yesterday in pole, “satisfied” with his performance, but admitted the gap between him and 2nd-placed teammate Nico had been ‘very, very small’.

They said the failure was caused by a puncture created by unidentified external debris.

“The car’s been feeling great on the circuit…”

“The problem is that we don’t really understand it. There are theories, but there is no real evidence”.

“I was never in position where I felt nervous”.

Ferrari suffered a nightmare session with Hungary Grand Prix victor Sebastian Vettel in ninth whileKimi Raikkonen’s auto came to a stop on the edge of the track in Q2.

Instead, Frenchman Romain Grosjean completed the podium for troubled Lotus.

Russian Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat mounted an incredible comeback, ending in fourth place after being in seventh place going into the ultimate laps.

Bottas started third but also messed up his start and then had a drive-thru penalty when his team put the wrong tire on one of the wheels.

The McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button moved up from the back of the grid to take 13th and 14th, after massive starting penalties for engine changes, ahead of Manor pair Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens.

Lewis Hamilton wins in Spa as tyre blowout denies Sebastian Vettel podium

Lewis Hamilton won the Belgian Grand Prix with relative ease as Mercedes took a comfortable one-two victory and left the fighting to its rivals behind.

Drama unfolded behind the top two on the penultimate lap when Sebastian Vettel, who was on a one-stop strategy, suffered a right-rear tyre blowout on the Kemmel Straight. It was the second blowout of the weekend after Rosberg suffered a tyre failure in Friday practice, but it is not yet clear if the two are in any way related. Vettel was attempting to hold off Romain Grosjean's Lotus at the time, who was on a more conventional two-stop strategy and tyres that were eight laps younger. The tyre failure allowed Grosjean and Lotus onto the podium for the first time since the US Grand Prix in 2013, but infuriated Vettel who slumped to 12th as a result.The victory gives Hamilton a 28-point lead in the drivers' standings, enough to retire from the next race and retain the top spot even if Rosberg wins. Hamilton never looked under serious pressure as he executed a perfect two-stop strategy and kept Rosberg, who dropped to fifth at the start, comfortably behind throughout.

At the start, Rosberg made a slow getaway from the front row and was immediately swamped at the first corner as Hamilton led on the run down to Eau Rouge. Sergio Perez made a brilliant start from fourth to second and drew alongside Hamilton as the pair closed on the chicane at Les Combes. Perez had a look around the outside of Hamilton, but backed out as soon as the Mercedes claimed the apex in order to retain second place. Vettel also made a strong start from eighth to move up to fifth by the second lap as Valtteri Bottas lost out and fell to sixth.

The first pit stops occurred on lap seven, shuffling Rosberg up to second, which he would retain for the rest of the race. Bottas' race went from bad to worse at his first pit stop after his team fitted one medium tyre and three softs. The mistake saw the Williams driver penalised with a drive-through penalty from which he never really recovered as he went on to finish ninth.

Rosberg pitted on lap 12 and Hamilton on lap 13, with Rosberg emerging 7.5s behind his team-mate. He started to close the gap, but Hamilton remained unflustered and was able to answer Rosberg's charge when the gap narrowed to four seconds. Grosjean was making moves already as he fashioned two passes at Les Combes, one on Daniel Ricciardo and one on Perez to take third. The gap between the Mercedes drivers remained stable until a virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed on lap 20 when Ricciardo's Red Bull lost power in the final chicane and stopped on the pit straight.

The VSC prompted a flurry of pit stops for Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Max Verstappen and Bottas, while Vettel opted to stay out and moved up to third place. The VSC also saw Rosberg close to within 2.2s of Hamilton when the race restarted, but once again Hamilton was equal to the challenge and quickly stretched his lead again.

Ferrari opted to keep Vettel out on his ageing medium tyres until the end of the race in the hope he could retain third place from the drivers on fresher tyres behind. The plan was working until lap 42 when his right rear tyre unravelled and exploded on the Kemmel Straight. The failure instantly brought an end to Vettel's chances, while Grosjean came over the hill at Raidillon to be faced by flailing rubber and a quick promotion to third place.

Outside the top three, Daniil Kvyat resisted the urge to pit under the VSC and instead made his second pit stop six laps later and took on on soft tyres. The decision gave him an advantage against those who had stopped under the VSC and in the final few laps he carved his way through the order to finish fourth.

Perez did well to hold onto fifth ahead of Massa, Raikkonen and Verstappen, who had a shot at seventh on the final lap but ran deep at Les Combes trying to overtake the Ferrari ahead. Bottas and Marcus Ericsson took the final points on offer in ninth and tenth.

Formula 1’s 2015 season team-by-team budgets revealed, Pastor Maldonado lashes out at media

WE all know it costs an absolute bomb to run a Formula 1 team — but the sheer size of some teams’ budgets for the 2015 season alone is almost unfathomable.

That, Pastor Maldonado’s strange tirade and more in Pit Talk.

RED BULL GIVES YOU POCKETS FULL OF CASH

FORMULA 1’s mind-blowing budgets have been published and despite failing to record a Grand Prix win in almost 12 months, Red Bull Racing remains Formula 1’s richest team.

With a budget of €468.7 million ($700m) in 2015, approximately six times that of the Manor Marussia team, Red Bull has only managed to conjure results good enough for fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Red Bull generates more income than any other Formula 1 team.Source: Getty Images

Mercedes currently runs from the second largest cash pool with its 2015 budget a cool €467.4m ($698m) while surprisingly McLaren comes in third with €465m ($695m) in its coffers this season.

Such budgets dwarf those of other teams including Williams (€186.4m/$252m), Lotus (€139.1m/$208m) and Manor Marussia (€83m/$124m).

When the budgets are broken down, Red Bull’s income of €266m ($397m) from sponsors eclipses all of its rivals, while McLaren receives the greatest contribution from partners of €216.5m ($324m).

Ferrari has been granted the largest slice of the broadcast rights pie this year, receiving €175m ($262m) for its global appeal.

Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo justified some of Red Bulls’ high cash flow with a second and third placing respectively in Hungary.Source: Getty Images

PRICKLY PASTOR SHOOTS FROM THE HIP

COME off it, Pastor.

In a desperate attempt to fight his ‘Crashtor’ nickname, Lotus driver Pastor Maldonado has blamed the Formula 1 media for his bad reputation.

His position as the sport’s most powerful pay driver means he is unlikely to escape criticism from fans and journalists for his crash-prone driving — but that’s no excuse for the constant tirade of criticism according to the man himself.

“In F1 these days it is not easy for find news,” Maldonado told Brazil’s Globo.

“It is practically always the same drivers in first and second positions. Third as well. It’s not like 10, 15 years ago when there were more battles and therefore more news.

Pastor Maldonado makes his dash from the scene of the crime.Source: Getty Images

“So it means the journalists are seeking news where there is none.”

On his controversial arrival in the sport, Maldonado said: “At first it was a huge pressure being this ‘pay driver,’ but I’ve learned to live with it because it is not just any driver who can win an F1 race without having the best car.

“Today, I still feel undervalued in F1, but only because I have not had a car that allows me to show my talent.

“There are drivers who do not deserve to be in F1, but I believe that I have demonstrated — clearly — that I deserve to have a long career.”

For good measure, Maldonado also stated that “With a car like that (Mercedes) I would have the chance to fight for victory every race weekend. I’m completely sure about that.”

Maldonado’s record at the Australian Grand Prix is zero from five completed races.Source: Getty Images

DAN BRINGS IT HOME

DANIEL Ricciardo is bringing Formula 1 to Perth.

The Red Bull driver, who hails from the Western Australia capital, will drive the RB7 car that Sebastian Vettel steered to the 2011 world championship in the Perth Speed Fest in December.

A host of Australian motorsport stars including 1980 world champion Alan Jones, V8 pilot Will Davison and MotoGP young gun Jack Miller will also be in attendance — but it is Ricciardo’s presence that will set tongues wagging.

“To see our local hero Daniel Ricciardo in an F1 car racing in Perth, as well as racing and demonstrations of motocross, rallying, bikes, drags and V8s — alongside a huge showcase of historic, classic and majestic cars — will be exciting,” event producer Emma Stenhouse said.

Daniel Ricciardo downs a swig of champagne after his third place finish in Hungary.Source: Getty Images

CAN’T WE ALL BE FRIENDS?

SEBASTIAN Vettel is upset that modern drivers don’t get along like the good old days.

The Ferrari ace, who has been criticised by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone for his introverted personality, believes the new era of professionalism has restricted the opportunity for drivers to socialise away from the track.

“It is different times today than it was 30 or 40 years ago, when you had a lot of things happening which naturally puts the group together,” Vettel told motorsport.com..

“Now everyone has their own life much more, looking at how busy we are at the track.

“If you look at everyone’s agenda there is not much time to hang out, everyone puts their own interest before everything else. It is sad.”

Sebastian Vettel has a healthy relationship with teammate Kimi Raikkonen.Source: Getty Images

One man Vettel does get along with is teammate Kimi Raikkonen — a far cry from his tense relationship with former Red Bull colleague Mark Webber.

But with Raikkonen’s position under threat, Vettel has urged his employers to prioritise morale when deciding on its driver line-up for 2016.

“Whatever happens I think it’s important we keep the morale, the atmosphere as a team and we keep working in one direction because I think ultimately that’s what allows us to become strong again and be back on top which is all our dream,” he told crash.net.

Vettel’s relationship with Mark Webber wasn’t always smooth sailing.Source: Getty Images

GUTIERREZ IN POLE POSITION

FORMER Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez is in pole position to secure a return to Formula 1 with the new Haas team in 2016.

Team boss Gene Haas has narrowed down his shortlist of driver targets to five, with Gutierrez’s sponsorship agreement with Mexican telecommunications firm Claro believed to have given him a foot in the door.

“He’s a Ferrari reserve driver, so Ferrari would be interested in seeing how he does and it kind of helps both parties,” Haas said.

“We get a driver who Ferrari thinks has a lot of potential and we can see how he does too.”

While the identities of all five drivers are not yet known, it is believed Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg is also a high priority target for Haas.

Esteban Gutierrez lost his drive at Sauber after the 2014 season.Source: Getty Images

LEGEND RETURNS

JACQUES Villeneuve is set to return to fulltime open wheel racing for the first time since quitting Formula 1 a decade ago in next season’s Formula E championship.

The 1997 world champion has signed on with the Venturi team for the 2015/16 season, replacing another ex-F1 pilot Nick Heidfeld.

“This is the first time in several years that I will participate in a full championship. I am excited because the atmosphere while working alongside the Venturi team is great and that has a very big influence. Also I know Stephane Sarrazin well, we trust each other,” Villeneuve said.

“It had been 10 years since I had driven on that kind of track with a single-seater, but it’s like riding a bike, you never forget. It was real happiness,” he added.