In Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel matched Nigel Mansell’s record of 14 poles in a season, and when investigated in detail, Vettel’s achievement is actually more remarkable.
Many fans have said that the high number of races this year devalues the achievement. 2011 has been a season consisting of 19 races, whereas there were just 16 races in 1992 when Mansell originally set the record.
However, just comparing the number of races in their respective seasons is a very simplistic approach. When you compare the different regulations, the quality of the cars at their disposal and their teammates, Vettel’s record starts to become extremely admirable.
Firstly the qualifying format these days is more challenging than it was in 1992. Back then it was a one hour format with unlimited laps. Therefore if you made a mistake on one lap, it wasn’t a huge issue as you could just complete another lap providing you had time left.
You could also set a couple of banker laps early in the session to ensure you had a decent grid position, before going gung-ho in your final attempts later on.
In the current format, the German has to navigate his way through the two knockout sessions before having the chance to go for pole. With so many cars on the track with limited time, getting the required lap time to progress can sometimes be a banana skin.
In the final session itself there is only time for a maximum of two runs, so the pressure is on to deliver the perfect lap in a very short space of time.
What has made the qualifying format even more challenging in 2011 is the increased need to save fresh sets of tyres for the race. This means that ideally the top teams have only wanted their drivers to complete a single lap in Q1 and Q2 therefore only using two sets of tyres.
In some sessions the top teams have only done one lap in Q3 too. The challenge of just having one chance to set a great lap has been a regular occurrence this season.
Furthermore in 1992 teams were allowed to bring spare cars to races. Therefore even if you crashed during one of your laps, you could go back to the pits and jump straight into the spare car if there was enough time.
These days if you stop out on the track during qualifying your session is finished immediately. Even a crash in Saturday practice can cost you later in qualifying, as Fernando Alonso found out to his misfortune in Monaco last year.
Generally there is much more stress involved on Saturdays now. To go through the whole season without a mishap under the current format is very commendable.
Mansell’s Williams FW14B and Vettel’s Red Bull RB7 are similar in that they are both Adrian Newey cars, with a Renault power plant in the back.
There are no doubts that both cars were the best in the field. However the dominance of Mansell’s FW14B was far more crushing than that of Sebastian’s RB7 in the current campaign.
The RB7’s pace advantage has only ever been measured in tenths. Vettel has never been more than 0.8 seconds quicker than the first non-Red Bull in qualifying. The FW14B in 1992 was at times more than two whole seconds faster than the quickest non-Williams car over a single lap.
In Silverstone, Mansell was 2.741 seconds faster than Ayrton Senna’s McLaren. Considering Senna is regarded as the best one lap driver of all time, it shows just how incredible Nigel’s car was.
The car also featured a number of driver aids including traction control, anti-lock brakes and active suspension. This made the car easier to drive on the limit. Such driver aids are now of course banned in F1 which makes driving on the limit more challenging. These days the emphasis is back on the skill of the drivers, and mistakes are easier to make.
Throughout 1992 Williams retained much of their advantage. In the penultimate two qualifying sessions of the season, Mansell was still over a second faster than the first non-Williams car.
The same can’t be said for Red Bull. In the first half of the season most of Vettel’s poles were relatively comfortable. However during much of the second half of the season he has had a tougher fight over pole position, as McLaren have become more and more competitive over a single lap.
In Japan he was only on pole by 0.009 seconds. It took a mighty lap in Abu Dhabi to pip a back to form Lewis Hamilton to the front slot on the grid. He also had a very tight tussle with the McLaren duo back in Hungary.
Vettel should also take mighty credit for completely dominating Mark Webber in qualifying. Before coming across the now double world champion, Webber was regarded as one of F1’s single lap specialists. He had beaten every other team mate he had come up against.
Therefore to dominate the Australian like has Vettel has done has taken something very special indeed.
You would have to say that Webber has been a tougher teammate for Vettel, than Riccardo Patrese was for Mansell. The gulf in class between the pair was massive at times.
During Silverstone qualifying, Mansell carried a 40mph advantage through one corner over Patrese. The gap between them that day was a gigantic 1.919 seconds.
A gap like that between Vettel and Webber in qualifying is absolutely unimaginable.
Throughout the season Sebastian has always delivered an incredible lap when it’s required, very often in the dying seconds of the pole position shootout. Vettel is always absolutely committed, and right on the edge when he is delivering a hot lap. He has been incredibly consistent over a single lap.
He hasn’t made a mistake on a flying lap all year that has cost him pole position. Under the immense pressure of the qualifying format and quality of opposition that is deeply impressive.
The last time the young German made a little error costing him pole was back in Singapore in 2010, when a slight brush with the wall allowed Fernando Alonso to just nick it.
Something we can’t forget is that Vettel is still only 24 years old, and only in his fourth full season of Formula 1. When Mansell set the record he was a lot more experienced – he was 39 years old and in his 13th season of F1.
If Vettel can break clear of Mansell this coming weekend with his 15th pole position of the season in Brazil, then it has to be considered one of the finest records ever achieved in the history of the sport, when you take everything into account.
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