“There are some things I’m very German on,” he says. “I like being accurate, I
like making things in an efficient way, rather than doing it in a
complicated manner.”
He has also been an avid follower of the World Cup, clubbing together with his
three compatriots in the Silverstone drivers’ briefing to finish as quickly
as possible, given it clashed with his side’s resounding victory over
France. And, confounding those old stereotypes about the German sense of
humour, he is also surprisingly amusing.
“I should clean my car on a Friday, but at the track I have other people doing
it for me,” he jokes. “At home [he lives in the Swiss village of Walchwill
with his childhood sweetheart, Hanna Prater, and their young daughter] I’m
not there to clean my car, so in that regard I’m a bad German. I don’t know
if Rosberg has a sense of humour. I struggle to joke with him – in that
regard he could be very German …”
On a more serious note, Hockenheim – with its terrifyingly long straights – is
the circuit which first kindled the flame in Vettel. He vividly remembers
coming to Formula One practice here in 1992, when the awesome sound sent
vibrations through the ground and shivers up his spine.
This is what makes Vettel tick: he is a racer at heart with little inclination
to share his private life. While Vettel is rarely seen beyond his obligatory
sponsors’ events, Rosberg posted a picture from his wedding to Vivian Sibold
on Twitter. That is why folk in Germany say that Rosberg might already be
the more popular man come Sunday’s race.
Vettel is liked but not loved. The man himself seems uncomfortable,
embarrassed almost, by any attention he does receive.
“You don’t wake up in the morning thinking I want to be an inspiration,” he
says. “When I go back to the go kart track, it’s nice to see young kids
coming to you and appreciating what you do. It’s very easy to deal with it
when you were on the other side, whereas being the sort of ‘hero’ feels a
bit strange. I don’t feel like being a hero, or being an inspiration to
people, because I am who I am. I can’t fly like Superman, I don’t have any
superpowers.”
Until last year, when he finally broke his duck, Vettel seemed particularly
bereft of superpowers at his home race. Given Mercedes
dominance, it will take miracles for him to repeat that feat on Sunday.
Of even greater concern is Vettel’s current predicament in the championship.
On every measure Ricciardo has been the quicker and better driver this
season. He was even ordered through past his team-mate on two occasions.
If Red Bull have been taken aback by the Australian’s speed, has the four-time
reigning champion? The man who was on the receiving end of heaps of
criticism after he lampooned F1’s new engine note earlier in the year with a four-letter expletive, adopts his usual forthright tone.
“It’s natural to get your a— kicked from time to time,” he says. “I try to
limit them, but at the moment he seems to have the upper hand. He’s feeling
well inside the car, and he’s quick. Obviously I didn’t have the smoothest
season so far, with a lot of things breaking down, and a lot of things
stopping me getting in the rhythm, and there’s one or two things I don’t
like, but we will try to improve. I am honestly very happy for him.”
It is hard think of a champion who has been so readily written off. There
seems to be a particular relish with which people do so. It was only fuelled
when his rival, Fernando Alonso, served up a cutting barb in an interview
with the BBC last year in Abu Dhabi.
The Twitter-phobe, who received a chorus of boos almost everywhere he went
last year, has spoken of a lack of “respect” for his achievements, and sees
the 24/7 media environment as part of the problem. Without being so impolite
as to point a finger, part of the blame seems to be directed at ‘my kind’.
“People tend to make a new judgment every day rather than sticking to one
opinion,” he laments. “That’s how quickly the world changes.” It chimes with
why he believes it is harder to be an outspoken personality in F1’s modern,
corporate landscape.
“I think nowadays it’s too controlled. The media creates too much pressure and
too much hype for nothing. It tends to judge day after day. In the past you
probably hadn’t heard of Formula One for two or three weeks in a newspaper,
whereas now you have the internet, you have to constantly deliver as a
journalist, so you have to come up with something new even if it’s
completely dull and boring.”
He is at his most fluid in our entire 25 minutes together now. “In the past,
there was no problem to go out on a Saturday night before the race and have
a beer and a smoke. If you do that now people would say you’re not taking
things seriously, or letting your team down.
“But there’s nothing wrong with having a beer. It’s not about getting drunk so
you’re drunk in the car, because that would not be very responsible, but I
think the judgment is a lot harsher than it used to be.”
The judgment of his comments on F1’s new rules was stern, with Jean Todt, the
FIA president, even issuing a rebuke. But the judgment on his qualities as a
driver remains a more fundamental talking point for the German.
How can a four-time champion have seemingly fallen so quickly? That is the
question he will not avoid until he starts showing Ricciardo who is boss.
One has the feeling, however, that if anything more than third place was up
for grabs, he would raise his game. While he insists motivation is still
high, Vettel almost suggests as much.
“Ultimately the target is not Daniel, it is Mercedes. Yes, it’s nice to beat
your team-mate, but being 13th and 14th doesn’t give much pleasure.
Ultimately I want to win.”
Maybe if Vettel pulls off a heroic win on Sunday the German public will
finally embrace him. Or perhaps their allegiance has switched to the social
media-friendly Rosberg for good.