Sebastian Vettel has been described as a stickler who is callous in his pursuit of victory. The evaluation comes from Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner after watching Vettel produce another perfect display in Valencia during the European Grand Prix weekend. In completing Formula One's equal of the hat-trick - pole, win and fastest lap - Vettel complete his lead to a strong 77 points over his nearest rivals, team-mate Mark Webber and McLaren's Jenson Button.
Seven poles, six wins and two second-place finish from the eight grands prix to date stand for grim reading for his follower who fall further back with each race. It is fast becoming a case of when, not if, Vettel will total back-to-back world title victory as he gains in self-assurance and maturity as the season open out.
After his last-lap mistake in Canada two weeks ago that cost him the win in Montreal, Horner said:He was keen to have a perfect weekend in Valencia, and he did just that. He bounces back.But then he never ceases to upset us because at one point we hadn't told him we had put the prime (harder) tyres on Mark's car because we didn't want him to push any harder.
In that admiration there is a touch of Michael Schumacher about Vettel - methodical, careful and metronomic as he reels off lap after lap.He just continues to improve,added Horner.His confidence is sky high, he's won six out of eight races now, over second in the other two, is 14 point off an utmost score at pretty much the halfway stage which is hugely imposing.
Horner sees in Vettel a will to succeed on every occasion, adding:He wants to win. He's much focused.If you look at what happen in Montreal it was all about charming. He went for it on the last lap, but it didn't work out.It shows, though, his state of mind is all about the 25 points.
The damning scenario is that Vettel could go away on holiday today, return after Formula One's August break for the Belgium Grand Prix in two months' time and still be leading the finals. It appears absurd the 23-year-old German can lose the title from this place, yet Horner remains careful.