Vettel voted Driver of the Weekend for third time

2011 Indian Grand Prix

Posted on

| Written by

Vettel had a perfect race in India

Sebastian Vettel was voted the Driver of the Weekend for the Indian Grand Prix by F1 Fanatic readers.

He garnered almost half of the votes and won the poll for the third time this season.

Jenson Button was runner-up with just nine votes more than third-placed Michael Schumacher.

Driver of the Indian Grand Prix Weekend poll – top three

1. Sebastian Vettel – 47.5%
2. Jenson Button – 13.5%
3. Michael Schumacher – 11.6%

Sebastian Vettel

Qualifying: 1st
Race: 1st

Vettel dominated the Indian Grand Prix sealing it with his first ever perfect result: pole position, race victory, fastest lap and leading every lap of the race. For many F1 Fanatics, this left them no choice but to vote for the world champion:

Vettel. No one else had a weekend that was particularly great, and Vettel was just in control from start to finish. The ‘Grand Chelem’ was just the icing on the cake.
Lin1876

Quite apart from his race win, Vettel also produced yet another last-gasp improvement in qualifying.

It’s so easy to head out for a second time desperate to go faster; push too hard; and then return to the pits having made a mistake. But with Hamilton quite close behind his previous time, Vettel would have felt under pressure, and once again he pulled it off with several tenths’ improvement. […]

Ultimately Vettel reigned supreme, in the same car that looked average in Webber’s hands.
Alex

Has to be Vettel. Flawless performance yet again.

What I find incredible is that unlike many dominant champions, who tend to do all their winning at the start of the year and then tail off for whatever reason, Vettel is just as enthused and as dominant now as he was at the start of the year. A remarkable season.
Dan Thorn

Alain voted for Vettel, but also acknowledged the performance of another driver:

My vote goes to Sebastian, he (once again) had a perfect race, it’s simply amazing to see how he makes the difference in the first laps with a frightening pace and then he controls the situation perfectly well.

I would like to mention Michael’s race too, with a great start and a good pace, he had a perfect strategic vision of the race so he chose the perfect moment to overtake Nico Rosberg in the pits.
Alain

Jenson Button

Button was best of the rest

Qualifying: 5th*
Race: 2nd

*Promoted to 4th after Lewis Hamilton’s penalty.

Despite starting from the dirty side of the track, Button delivered strong opening laps, climbing to second – position he kept until the chequered flag.

It was a close one between Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel for me. But I gave it to Jenson simply because he outpaced Lewis Hamilton by around a second a lap, which is good by anyone’s standards and further cements him as equally as good, if not better.
JamieFranklinF1

Jenson was more impressive to me because of a great start, because he made the overtake of Webber look easy (and safe), and because he drove faster than Hamilton.
Alex

Michael Schumacher

Another strong start helped Schumacher to fifth

Qualifying: 12th*
Race: 5th

*Promoted to 11th after Vitaly Petrov’s penalty.

On Saturday, Schumacher missed out Q3 by two-hundredths of a second, but he made a good start to recover some positions. He later produced a solid performance to overtake his team mate in the pits and grab fifth place.

Saved his KERS until the long back straight which allowed him to make up three places [at the start].

He managed his tyres well in the middle stint, which helped him stay out longer and jump team mate.
YinkaBabs

2011 Driver of the Weekend results so far

FirstSecondThird
AustraliaSergio Perez (36.3%)Vitaly Petrov (32.5%)Sebastian Vettel (12.0%)
MalaysiaNick Heidfeld (38.4%)Sebastian Vettel (16.0%)Jenson Button (12.1%)
ChinaMark Webber (47.8%)Lewis Hamilton (42.4%)Felipe Massa (2.5%)
TurkeyFernando Alonso (37.8%)Kamui Kobayashi (25.8%)Sebastian Vettel (22.1%)
SpainLewis Hamilton (39.6%)Sebastian Vettel (23.9%)Fernando Alonso (13.3%)
MonacoJenson Button (33.1%)Fernando Alonso (18.8%)Sebastian Vettel (17.0%)
CanadaJenson Button (61.0%)Michael Schumacher (27.8%)Sebastian Vettel (2.2%)
EuropeFernando Alonso (32.6%)Sebastian Vettel (27.6%)Jaime Alguersuari (25.7%)
BritainFernando Alonso (53.0%)Lewis Hamilton (22.3%)Mark Webber (8.0%)
GermanyLewis Hamilton (76.6%)Adrian Sutil (9.8%)Fernando Alonso (5.6%)
HungaryJenson Button (50.7%)Paul di Resta (14.4%)Lewis Hamilton (11.8%)
BelgiumMichael Schumacher (45.1%)Jenson Button (28.2%)Sebastian Vettel (14.7%)
ItalySebastian Vettel (38.2%)Michael Schumacher (29.6%)Jenson Button (18.2%)
SingaporeSebastian Vettel (41.8%)Paul di Resta (30.9%)Jenson Button (15.6%)
JapanJenson Button (67.3%)Fernando Alonso (13.3%)Michael Schumacher (6.3%)
KoreaLewis Hamilton (36.4%)Jaime Alguersuari (22.6%)Sebastian Vettel (22.2%)
IndiaSebastian Vettel (47.5%)Jenson Button (13.5%)Michael Schumacher (11.6%)

Vettel continues his impressive run of top-three finishes in the poll having been there 12 times this season.

Both Button and Schumacher are also frequent guests in the top three – Button has been there nine times and Schumacher five.

Do you agree with the results so far this season? Post your comments below.

2011 Indian Grand Prix

    Browse all 2011 Indian Grand Prix articles

    Images © Red Bull/Getty images, Daimler

    17 comments on “Vettel voted Driver of the Weekend for third time”

    1. It’s nice to see my comment here (though the silly spelling mistake), thanks Ewa Zaborska 

      It’s notorious the improvement of Schumacher since Hungary, he has been in the top three in all the races he has finished, and in my opinion those votes have been well deserved.

      Vettel has gained some recognition as the season has advanced, its clear that the he has the best car but it’s impossible not to see (and enjoy) how amazingly well he is driving.

      1. Schumacher gets DOTW recognition any time he finishes ahead of Rosberg. If Rosberg finishes ahead of Schumacher there is no recognition. Funny that! Are people giving Schumacher special sympathy points or something?

        1. Now there’s a controversial point of view! However I do think Schumacher’s poor form in 2010 lowered people’s expectations of him.

          1. I think Schumacher’s poor form last year was because he was getting used to F1 again, and it had changed quite a bit since he left in 2006.

            He’d probably only get better each year, but it will be interesting to see how he goes, as you can’t deny he’s getting on a bit! It’d be a shame if he never got on the podium again simply because he aged and lost his agility and stamina.

            1. @damonsmedley I really would love to see Schumacher on the podium. I think that would be just about acceptable for a comeback of that magnitude. You can fault his results but certainly not his work ethic.

        2. Two reasons:

          1. Michael is much more spectacular than Nico, overtaking, in the first lap of the GPs or defending the position. I have not seen Nico giving us such a great performances as Canada or Monza.

          2.A lot of fans(or simply F1 fans) want to see Michael in top again, because this means that we will see better races.

        3. I think Schumacher’s late form mean he deserves the recognition he is getting. Rosberg has been consistent but not spectacular this year.

    2. Well deserved. I still think he was robbed of first in Spa! I’ve voted for Seb in the last three polls, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I do the same twice more before the season is out.

      Norbert Vettel should never have allowed his son to take up karting. It’s ruined the excitement of F1!

      1. Norbert Vettel should never have allowed his son to take up karting. It’s ruined the excitement of F1!

        There you go! That’s where people should be directing their loathing! ;-)

    3. Deservedly so.
      I am angry at the media with the exaggerated rubbish they’re coming up with that Button is destroying Hamilton.It’s funny really, with all respect to JB, this season he has been the better (luckier) driver, brilliant season, credit goes where credit’s due. However, the rubbish the media are coming up with and exaggerating Button’s talent, get real. For JB to beat LH it takes Lewis to have this kind of season and still LH mathematically can beat JB in the standings, its reidculous.

      Think carefully about this:

      “For JB to beat LH it takes Lewis to have this kind of season”.

      1. I’d dispute ‘luckier.’ Button has had two technical retirements, while Hamilton’s problems have been largely of his own making.

        Without those retirements, the standings might be Button 260 / Hamilton 202 – quite a hefty gap. (I’m assuming two 5th places for Button). If Hamilton had retired instead of Button, we’d be looking at Button 264 / Hamilton 165, a gap of roughly four race wins.

        That’s how much difference a car faliure makes – and that’s why Button’s unlucky to have had more than Vettel, Webber, Alonso and Hamilton put together.

    4. Surprising to see how much sympathy vote Hamilton got for his Korea performance!

    5. I think you mean fifth: “Another strong start helped Schumacher to second.”

      1. Changed it, thanks.

    6. Vettel’s biggest share of the pie thus far. People are ACTUALLY starting to appreciate him it seems. About time.

      It has been frustrating to see people slander him so much but equally humbling just how much he has won people over!

    7. Vettel has got it all.

      He`s probably the fastest driver over one lap. I know many will dispute this but it is a fact that he`s able to go out there and bang in that great lap every singel time while others make mistakes.

      When it comes down to car control he probably steals the honours as well. Any driver who is capable of being very quick on cold tires has amazing car control. And Vettel is the fastest on cold tires.

      To top it all off he`s also capable of looking after his tires as good as the best of the others. We often se the rest of the pack heading in while Vettel and Button keep going.

      He`s obviously very intelligent and calculating. He`s a thinking racer as well as a very fast driver.

      When it comes down to overtaking he`s probably not among the best 3, but he`s not far off when he has to. and consider his learning curve I fully expect him to be up with the very best of them when it comes to overtaking as well. That is.. if he has to overtake anybody.

    8. now he’s won the real grand chelem (pole, win, fastest lap, all laps lead AND dotw ;)

    Comments are closed.