Vettel in numbers
3,098 official points
4Drivers’ titles
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
4th of 789 all time
4Constructors’ titles
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
9th of 789 all time
17.7% of races
19.1% of races
40.8% of races
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
4% of races with Toro Rosso
4% of races with Toro Rosso
4% of races with Toro Rosso
4Drivers’ titles
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
of 4 in the career
4Constructors’ titles
2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
of 4 in the career
33.6% of races with Red Bull
38.9% of races with Red Bull
57.5% of races with Red Bull
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
11.9% of races with Ferrari
10.2% of races with Ferrari
46.6% of races with Ferrari
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2.4% of races with Aston Martin
Sebastian Vettel was the child prodigy who became a four-time champion before turning twenty-seven. He debuted with BMW Sauber in 2007, scoring on his first race, and in 2008 gave Toro Rosso a historic win in the Monza rain, becoming the youngest winner in history at the time.
At Red Bull, alongside designer Adrian Newey, he forged a dynasty: four consecutive championships between 2010 and 2013. The first was sealed in the final race against Alonso and Webber; the last came after a closing run of nine straight wins. His single-lap dominance (57 poles) and precision with the car made him lethal when the machinery was there.
His Ferrari spell (2015-2020) produced great races but no title, partly through his own errors in the decisive years. He retired in 2022 from Aston Martin, leaving an image very different from his youth: a thoughtful driver, committed to social and environmental causes, respected inside and outside the paddock.
What if Vettel had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-38 pts | P1.8 | 5.5 | 20% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese+76 pts | P1 | 9.6 | 100% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello+104 pts | P1 | 14.1 | 100% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+114 pts | P1 | 15.6 | 100% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton-28 pts | P1.9 | 8.8 | 15% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez+93 pts | P1 | 17.6 | 100% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+45 pts | P9 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Alain Prost in the 1988 McLaren: 38 points clear over a full season.
Vettel against everyone, in the same car
We put the 11 names that come up most often head to head with identical machinery, 150 seasons of 18 races per duel. Vettel comes out 7 of 11, between Alonso and Fangio.
The full league, duel by duel, with who beats whom and by how much.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 82 2008
- Peak
- 92 2013
- 2022
- 75 Aston Martin
15 seasons in the database, from 2008 to 2022. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
2013
What would Sebastian Vettel have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Sebastian Vettel
Related drivers
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His team-mates
8 team-mates across 16 seasons. When both finished the race, Vettel was ahead in 138 of 215; on the grid he started ahead in 188 of 297.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Vitantonio LiuzziToro Rosso · 7 races | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| 2007 | Nick HeidfeldBMW Sauber · 1 race | · | 0-1 |
| 2008 | Sébastien BourdaisToro Rosso · 18 races | 10-0 | 13-5 |
| 2009 | Mark WebberRed Bull · 17 races | 6-4 | 14-3 |
| 2010 | Mark WebberRed Bull · 19 races | 10-5 | 13-6 |
| 2011 | Mark WebberRed Bull · 19 races | 15-2 | 16-3 |
| 2012 | Mark WebberRed Bull · 20 races | 11-5 | 12-8 |
| 2013 | Mark WebberRed Bull · 19 races | 14-0 | 17-2 |
| 2014 | Daniel RicciardoRed Bull · 19 races | 3-11 | 9-10 |
| 2015 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari · 19 races | 10-3 | 15-4 |
| 2016 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari · 21 races | 10-3 | 9-12 |
| 2017 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari · 20 races | 13-2 | 15-4 |
| 2018 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari · 21 races | 8-8 | 15-6 |
| 2019 | Charles LeclercFerrari · 21 races | 9-7 | 9-12 |
| 2020 | Charles LeclercFerrari · 17 races | 3-10 | 4-13 |
| 2021 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 22 races | 7-8 | 11-10 |
| 2022 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 20 races | 8-7 | 13-6 |
The first number is always Vettel's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Vettel with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Sebastian Vettel comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
- 6 min readVettel and Schumacher: 11 titles between them, and what if they had overlappedVettel drives a lap at Monza in tribute to Schumacher. Between them they hold 11 championships, 144 wins and 125 poles, and since 1988 Germany has…
- 9 min readWhat is the most dominant car in F1 history? 37 seasons measured with the same driverThe 2023 Red Bull RB19, and not narrowly: with an average driver it still wins nine races in ten. We sat the same driver in the best car of every s…
- 8 min readHow many races does it take for the best driver to win? 2,700 seasons measuredWe re-ran 2007, 2010, 2021 and 2024 a hundred and fifty times each, with calendars of 5, 10, 16 and 22 races. In a lopsided year five races are alr…