F1: Best Wins of Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel has accumulated 51 victories and four world championships till date over his stellar stint in Formula One. While all of his drivers’ titles have come with Red Bull Racing, he has driven brilliantly for Scuderia Ferrari in his recent years, quickly becoming a Tifosi favourite.

He gave chase to the championship in 2017 before it slipped from his fingers and he is in contention for the title in 2018 as well. Despite being 24 points adrift of championship rival Lewis Hamilton, the German is well within range to steal away the trophy for himself. His efforts have ensured that only ten points separate Ferrari from front-runners Mercedes in the constructors' table.

With nine Grand Prix still left in the 2018 calendar, Vettel would be hoping for the summer break to give him some respite and help him make a reinvigorated comeback to Formula One.

Sebastian has been racing for Ferrari since 2015, and with the exception of a dismal 2016 where no wins came his way, he has tasted immense success. He has emerged victorious twelve times in red over the years and here is a list of five of his best wins in the Prancing Horse team:-

#5 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix

The two Mercedes drivers locked out the front row, but Sebastian Vettel made a quick getaway to jump ahead of Lewis Hamilton. The pole sitter, Valtteri Bottas maintained position, but a train of front-runners developed behind him, waiting for an opportunity to overtake him.

The German came into the pits for supersoft tyres early on and went back out in traffic. Lap 12 and 13 saw drama with the retirement of Max Verstappen and a collision between Carlos Sainz and Lance Stroll respectively.

The safety car period right after saw a double stacked pit stop for Mercedes, allowing Vettel to grab the lead. Bottas tried to sneak a look past the Ferrari but was unable to overtake. Hamilton, meanwhile, was awarded a five-second penalty for slowing down excessively in the pits and impeding Daniel Ricciardo behind him.

With nobody able to challenge Sebastian, the 31-year-old clinched victory in Bahrain.

#4 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel started off well from pole and pulled away ahead of teammate, Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas. Soon after, both the Red Bull cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen collided, bringing out the safety car.

The restart went smoothly for Vettel as he held onto the lead. However, all was not well in his Ferrari and he quickly realized that his steering wheel was tilting to the left on the straights.

With the Mercedes cars catching up to the Ferrari drivers, Valtteri Bottas gave up his place to Lewis Hamilton in a bid for the Briton to catch up and pass Kimi. Lewis later slowed down to give the position back to his teammate after he was unsuccessful in overtaking the Iceman.

The 31-year-old claimed his fourth win despite being advised to stay off the kerbs and nursed his SF71H to the finish line.

#3 2018 British Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel had a rapid start, passing Lewis Hamilton for the lead at the beginning of the race. The British driver, however, was slow to react when the lights went out and was challenged for his position by the fourth-placed Kimi Räikkönen when a collision between the two spun him off track.

The 31-year-old produced lap times to stay ahead of everyone else and then came into the pits during lap 20 to concede first place to Valtteri Bottas. Later, Marcus Ericsson crashed, forcing a safety car deployment which saw a flurry of pit stops from Ferrari and Red Bull. Mercedes, however, decided to stay out.

A second safety car period, caused by an accident between Carlos Sainz and Romain Grosjean, bunched up the whole field once again. Although, this time, Bottas was unable to defend against the German on fresher tyres, who overtook him for the win.

#2 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix

The 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix began with Sebastian Vettel trailing Lewis Hamilton. Chaos ensued behind them with drivers colliding and puncturing their cars. Marcus Ericsson brought out the safety car after spinning and retiring.

The period included early pit stops for most cars, including the Mercedes of Hamilton and third placed Nico Rosberg, with Vettel deciding to stay out and claim the lead. While the Silver Arrows were quick to come through the field after their tyre change, they were not swift enough to catch the Ferrari up ahead.

The next two rounds of pit stops ensured the lead switching back and forth between the Briton and the German before the latter eventually came out in front. This was Sebastian’s first victory in a Ferrari and the 40th of his career.

#1 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix

Initially, everything was going to plan for Sebastian Vettel in the 2018 Bahrain Grand Prix. He got off to a good start from pole and maintained his position through most of the race. Calamity struck Ferrari during Kimi Räikkönen’s pit stop where he was released prematurely and injured a pit crew member, Francesco Cigarini’s leg.

Without his scheduled second pit stop, the German was left maintaining his tyres as well as fending off a late charge from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Vettel is no stranger to tyres blowing up, and the last thing he required in his championship contention was another mishap.

Ultimately, Sebastian managed to bring his car in for the win, with Bottas right on his tail.