Sunday’s race was a prime example. To be relegated to the back of the grid,
through no fault of your own, with all your detractors saying you can’t race
and it’s all about the car, and then battle back and finish on the podium,
is pretty special.
I’m not buying this ‘he got lucky’ baloney. Yes, things fell nicely for Seb
with the two safety cars. But Jenson Button had similar fortune in Canada
last year and everyone agreed his was a brilliant drive. Seb had such a
positive mindset on Sunday, he was so aggressive, it was a case of luck
favouring the brave.
Nor am I buying this argument that it was unfair because Red Bull were able to
make substantial changes to the car’s set-up after qualifying.
The rules are the same for everyone. Other teams could have pulled their cars
out of parc fermé and started from the pit-lane. McLaren had the same choice
in Barcelona in May when Lewis was relegated to the back of the grid.
So yes, Vettel’s drive was brilliant, as were a number of others on Sunday.
There were also some pretty shoddy displays and some very avoidable
collisions. The action was fast and furious and a little bit all over the
place. But what it did deliver, I thought, was a perfect illustration of the
contrast between the ‘greats’ and the ‘goods’ in Formula One at the moment.
Jenson’s awareness during his scrap with Seb over the final podium place,
knowing when to concede the corner, being an example of some world-class
driving; his soon-to-be McLaren team-mate Sergio Perez forcing Paul di Resta
off the circuit at the same corner earlier in the race being a little more
average.
It was no surprise that the top four places all went to world champions. Had
Lewis not retired it would have been five world champions in the top five.
The cream, as ever in Formula One, rises to the top. The race for the
drivers’ title could hardly be closer or more tantalisingly poised. My money
is on Seb, but only just.