page_title: Sebastian Vettel
section_title: 2011–2012: Successful title defences, most poles in a season
hierarchical_section_title: Sebastian Vettel / Formula One career / Red Bull / 2011–2012: Successful title defences, most poles in a season
caption_attribution_description: Formula One 2011 Rd.15 Japanese GP: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) during race.
context_page_description: Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver who races in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is a four-time Formula One World Champion, having won consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull Racing, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and by some the greatest ever. In addition to holding a number of 'youngest' records in Formula One, Vettel holds the record for the most consecutive race wins, as well as accumulating the third most race victories, podium finishes and the fourth most pole positions.
  Vettel started his Formula One career as a test driver for BMW Sauber in 2006 and made his racing debut with the team at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, replacing the injured Robert Kubica. Already part of the Red Bull programme, he joined Toro Rosso later in the season, and was kept as a driver for 2008. In his first full season in Formula One, he became the then-youngest pole-sitter and race winner at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Vettel was promoted to Red Bull for the 2009 season, and became the youngest driver in history to win the World Drivers' Championship in 2010.
context_section_description: Vettel started the 2011 season with wins in Australia and Malaysia, before a second-place finish at the Chinese Grand Prix due to poor tyre management, possibly related to his inability to properly communicate with his team, as his radio was broken. In Monaco, Vettel led the race but due to another radio malfunction, the Red Bull pit crew was not prepared when he came in. The pit stop was slow and he was sent out on the wrong tyres, handing the lead to Button. Vettel switched to a one-stop strategy, and stuck with one set of soft tyres for 56 laps. He was caught by Alonso and Button as his tyres deteriorated, but neither were able to pass him. The race was red-flagged with few laps remaining, which allowed teams to change their tyres; when the race was restarted under the safety car, Vettel was able to retain the lead and win.
  At the European Grand Prix, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) enforced a ban on engine mappings. It was believed by some in the press that this was an attempt by the FIA to thwart Vettel's early domination. Nevertheless, he took pole with the fastest qualifying lap in Valencia Street Circuit's history. Vettel dominated with his first hat-trick of 2011, and won his sixth race out of eight. The FIA implemented another rule change at the British Grand Prix, targeting the blown diffusers. Red Bull believed the changes would cost them about half a second per lap. During the race, Vettel held off Webber for second place, who ignored a radio message from team principal Christian Horner to hold position. It was only the second time in the sport's history that a driver had finished second or higher in each of the first nine races of a season and won at least six of them.
  Vettel's run of fourteen successive front-row starts and eleven successive top two finishes ended at his home race, where he qualified third and finished fourth. In Italy, he took his tenth pole position of the year, in which he joined Ayrton Senna as the only driver to have taken ten pole positions in two separate seasons. A podium finish in Japan secured his second successive title with four races remaining, making him the youngest ever double and back-to-back champion. Vettel won the following race in Korea to become the second driver to take at least ten wins in a season after Michael Schumacher. He also helped to secure Red Bull's second successive World Constructors' Championship. Vettel took his eleventh victory of the season in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, leading every lap from pole position, as well as setting the race's fastest lap to claim his first grand slam. Vettel broke the record for the most pole positions in a season at the season finale in Brazil, after he clinched his 15th pole of the year. He completed the year with 15 poles, 11 victories, and 17 podiums from 19 races; Vettel also earned a record total of 392 points.
  Vettel started the 2012 season with a second place at the Australian Grand Prix, before he finished outside the points in Malaysia following a collision with backmarker Narain Karthikeyan. Vettel and Horner criticised Karthikeyan's driving, with Vettel calling him an "idiot", and a "cucumber". Karthikeyan hit back, calling Vettel a "cry baby". Vettel crossed the line in first place at the Bahrain Grand Prix to go top of the championship standings. Three races without a podium place followed, before he retired at the European Grand Prix after an alternator failure, dropping him to fourth in the standings. In Germany, Vettel finished second behind Alonso but received a 20-second time penalty after the race, as he was off the track when he overtook Button; Vettel dropped back to fifth. He started in 10th place but finished second in Belgium to climb up to second place in the championship. Vettel then retired at the Italian Grand Prix due to a alternator failure, which saw the gap to leader Alonso grow to 39 points with seven races remaining. He won next race in Singapore, as he kept the lead until the 2-hour race limit was reached. At the Japanese Grand Prix he took his second career gra
caption: Vettel at the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix where, with four races remaining in the season, he became the youngest double World Drivers' Champion
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