Vettel wary of complacency
Friday 8th July 2011
In an interview with the official Formula 1 website, reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel discusses Silverstone and his successes.
Ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, the 24-year-old is threatening to run away with the World Drivers' Championship having already notched an astonishing 186 points in eight races. The German is a whopping 77 points ahead of 2nd placed Jenson Button with 11 races to go.
However, the youngest World Champion in F1 history is refusing to take his foot off the pedal and is careful not to let his recent successes get into his head. When asked what statistics and winning six out of right races meant to him, Vettel shrugged it off.
"It's true - statistics don't mean much to me because you start every race with a clean sheet of paper and what you achieved at the race before doesn't help you.
"Of course it is nice to make an impression on the sport, with your name coming up with so many pole positions, so many fastest laps and so many wins. But I am not sitting on the grid thinking that with one more win then I will surpass whoever. You race to win and not for statistics."
The Red Bull Racing driver added that he will be sticking to his winning formula in order to keep up his fine run.
"Who said that it was ever easy to win?
"It is key that you concentrate on every little bit so you reach the target. You shouldn't stare at the target as then you can stumble over the little steps. We definitely will follow that principle this weekend.
"Hopefully it will pay off again on Sunday afternoon. I would appreciate a similar result to the one I enjoyed in 2009."
The youngest F1 race winner has mixed memories of Silverstone, having won the 2009 edition of the British Grand Prix and finishing 5th in spite of claiming pole position in 2010.
Yet, Vettel expressed his fondness for Silverstone but laments the changes that the race track management has made.
"The track is really great and I know that all the drivers enjoy racing here. It has some fast corners where you really have to have guts. I really love coming here - and as you just mentioned - it is kind of a home race for us.
"I think it's a bit sad that the fans coming here can hardly see the pit stops as there is quite a significant difference between the level of the track and that of the grandstands.
"And for us drivers it's a bit sad that we have lost the first corner because I think that Copse was always something special. When you were standing at the pit wall you could see how quickly the cars were flying towards you and then they turn right."
However, Vettel added that modernity is an inevitable process if progress is to be made.
"Well that's now a thing of the past, but if you only look backwards you don't make a single move forwards. And I think that what we see now is a good step forward and I am expecting a very interesting weekend - for the drivers and for the fans."
Strong competition from last year's British Grand Prix winner Mark Webber and McLaren-Mercedes team is expected with the home crowd firmly rooting for Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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