Sport | Motorsport
Button counts on reversal of fortune
Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One wiseacre who has seen them all, the champs and the chumps, has no second thoughts about Sebastian Vettel, the sport's latest sensation.
- By Ted Macauley, Special to Gulf News
- Published: 23:26 July 3, 2009
Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One wiseacre who has seen them all, the champs and the chumps, has no second thoughts about Sebastian Vettel, the sport's latest sensation.
"He is a champion just waiting to happen," says Ecclestone, "and what makes that prospect so much more satisfying is that he is such a lovely guy."
He added: "When he does make the breakthrough - and he could still do it this season - there will be no stopping him. He could even break Schumacher's record."
Comparisons between Vettel and fellow German Michael Schumacher, the Grand Prix legend who won seven world titles, are inevitable as the 22 year old, the youngest winner of a GP, drives himself solidly into the sport's fast lane.
David Coutlhard, a winner himself 13 times could not agree more with Ecclestone's opinion.
Vettel's attack on Jenson Button's championship take-over gathered momentum in a vastly improved car at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and it promises to be underpinned on his homeland Nurburgring circuit on July 12.
The fascinating sub-plot to the fast developing and titanic drama between last year's strugglers Button and Vettel revolves around two geniuses behind the scenes...
They are Button's powerbroker Ross Brawn who masterminded Schumacher's seven titles at Benetton and Ferrari, and designer Adrian Newey, another world-beating influence, now at Red Bull, the most forward thinking backroom boys in F1.
Button and Vettel's clash at the historic German venue could be the turning point of the championship chase with the Brawn GP number one anxious to get back to his winning ways and the Red Bull flyer bent on cutting deeper into his advantage.
Just as he had his home Grand Prix stolen from him by Vettel he wants to do the same to his newest challenger by grabbing the glory in Germany.
Even though they were heartbroken at Button's disappointing sixth place at Silverstone the 128,000 spectators cheered victorious Vettel all the way around his celebration lap.
Even Button, robbed of a points haul by the runaway Red Bull, said: "Seb deserved his win. We never saw him after the start...now it's up to me to reverse the deal at the German Grand Prix."
Ted Macauley is a motorsport expert based in London
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