Incredible Vettel savours the champagne moment

Sebastian Vettel may one day go past Michael Schumacher’s record but there is nothing to suggest right now that he will one day turn into the man that many fans of the sport love to hate.

Schumacher may have won seven titles and have several records to his name but he didn’t rank high on the popularity charts.

Vettel, nicknamed ‘Baby Schumi’, too drew lot of flak when he showed signs of ruthlessness and more so for his dominance. On Sunday evening though, it was really hard to keep all that in mind.

Perhaps influenced by all the winners’ champagne which he carried to the post-race press conference and took big swigs out of, Vettel showed a side which is seldom seen by the world outside the paddock.

He went off tangent on many occasions and was unable to focus on a single idea for longer than a few seconds. He even swore on one occasion, but no one bothered to interject the 26-year-old who had only just achieved what only a handful of people in the world have.

“How do I feel? I am overwhelmed. I don’t know what to say. I think it is one of the best days of my career,” said the 26-year-old.

“I was watching Formula One on TV when Fernando (Alonso) started to win races (in 2003).

“Racing against some of the biggest drivers in the business is certainly not something I anticipated when I was growing up and driving karts. From that kind of a mindset to come and win four titles... it is not something I can put in words to be honest. I am saying a lot but it does not quite say what I am feeling right now.”

Once through with what seemed like an inevitable formality of winning the race, Vettel was at his entertaining best and when questioned about his wild celebration during which he did a ‘doughnut’ and kissed the nose of the car, the German said: “It’s just an appreciation for all the work that has gone into the car.”

“I crossed the line and I was empty (no energy). I took ages thinking about something to say.

“It’s one of those moments you wish to say so many things but you can’t. This has been a very tough year for me. To receive boos, even though you haven’t done anything wrong, to overcome that and to give the right answer on the track and finally get the acceptance that I think we’re all looking for as racing driver... it is brilliant. It makes me very proud to join people like Fangio, Prost and Michael,” Vettel said.