Redemption quickly came with a fine fourth place in China and although he struggled early in 2008, the corner was turned when Toro Rosso introduced their STR3 chassis at Monaco. However, placed third behind the safety car in wet conditions at Fuji, the inexperienced Vettel instead collided with future Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. The Red Bull-backed driver made his STR debut at the 2007 Hungarian GP and almost scored Toro Rosso's first podium finish at the Japanese Grand Prix in September. It wasn't long before he was racing F1 full-time, the big break coming when Toro Rosso decided to replace Scott Speed. Vettel finished eighth and, at the age of 19 years and 349 days, ticked off the second item on the list. Still a teenager, Vettel also contested the World Series by Renault Championship before graduating to an F1 race seat at the 2007 US GP as a replacement for the injured Robert Kubica. Vettel made his debut in the role at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, where he collected another, less welcome, record by earning a fine for speeding in the pitlane just seconds into his F1 career. Still only 23 years old, Vettel started his career in karts at the age of eight before switching to his national Formula BMW Championship in 2003.Ī move to the F3 Euroseries followed and he finished runner-up in the series in 2006, the year he also joined the BMW Sauber team as their reserve driver.
The 2010 season was wide-open right up until the last race but if the above list is anything to go by, then perhaps the outcome should never really have been in doubt?
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