Top 25 Formula 1 drivers of all-time
By Asher Fair
Top Formula 1 drivers of all-time: #8 – Sebastian Vettel
Depending on your view of modern-day drivers when it comes to all-time rankings and comparing drivers from different eras, you view Sebastian Vettel as either highly overrated or highly underrated on this list. Given his struggles in recent seasons, the former is probably more likely. But he still comes in at a solid #8.
Vettel is one of the drivers who many point to as having had the success he had primarily due to the dominance of his car, that being the Red Bull machine which won four consecutive world constructor championships from 2010 to 2013. During that span, the German driver won all four driver titles.
But as much as the car plays into it, it still takes an incredible level of skill to be able to pull off what Vettel pulled off, winning four titles in a row.
And let’s not forget that the 2010 and 2012 championship battles were by no means runaway victories for him, and in 2010, he had to deal with threats from quite a few drivers from other teams, not just his teammate.
His dominant 2011 and 2013 seasons shouldn’t be used against him, either. In 2011, he won 11 races, something that had only been pulled off by Michael Schumacher in his championship-winning 2002 and 2004 seasons, and his 2013 season was one of the greatest the sport had ever seen.
He won 13 races, tying Schumacher’s all-time record from the 2004 season, and at one point, he won nine races in a row, breaking the record of seven which had been set by Albert Ascari from 1952 to 1953 and then tied by Schumacher during his historic 2004 season.
With 53 victories, Vettel ranks third on the all-time list, and while it doesn’t appear as though he will be able to climb any higher, with second place Schumacher having 91, it does appear that his place inside the top three won’t be under threat in the immediate future.