“They said I was mad!” – 21 year old Sebastian Vettel spent hours at Michael Schumacher’s circuit before historic first F1 win at 2008 Italian GP

Sebastian Vettel spent hours practising at Michael Schumacher’s go-kart circuit in order to his wet-weather driving skills before the 2008 Italian GP win.

On 14 September 2008, Sebastian Vettel made history by winning the 2008 Italian GP. The 21-year-old became the youngest driver ever to have won an F1 race.

Vettel won the first race of his F1 career on a rainy evening at Monza driving for the Scuderia Toro Rosso. Formerly known as Minardi, it was rebranded as Red Bull racing’s sister team following its acquisition by the Energy drinks company.

The weekend in Monza was particularly damp and this troubled many drivers. It rained heavily on the day of qualifying with showers expected in Sunday’s main race too.

Hence taking the Pole position on Saturday’s Qualifying became crucial in order to improve chances of winning. And Vettel came prepared with a lot of practice.

Vettel blitzed past the field in damp conditions and secured the Pole position. He finished ahead of the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen by 0.8 seconds and became the youngest polesitter in F1 history.

 

The young German himself could not believe it. Vettel recollected, “I was joking with my engineers. We were saying if it is wet, then we have to go for pole position. But I never dreamt of being in the pole position.”

And with the win, Toros Rosso secured a win before the main team Red Bull could. But Vettel’s fairy tale victory would not have been possible if it wasn’t for a little help from his her0 – Michael Schumacher.

Also Read: Sebastian Vettel reflects on his final Monza experience at the Italian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel practised at Michael Schumacher’s circuit

Sebastian Vettel idolised 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. He was a big fan of the former Ferrari driver and had inspired Vettel to race in F1.

Schumi in his days was well known for his Wet Weather racing. And Vettel too was a big admirer of his fellow German racing icon. But Schumacher would play a hand in giving Vettel win his first ever F1 race and start his F1 legacy.

Ahead of the preceding round in Belgium, Vettel had headed to Michael Schumacher’s go-kart track at Kerpen. The German knew racing in Spa in wet conditions would be tricky and chose to do a couple of practice laps.

Vettel insisted to his engineers that wanted to drive in wet conditions on slicks. Vettel recalls their freight as they remarked, “They said, ‘no, you are mad!’ and I said, ‘I need some practice if it rains in Spa.’”

He finished P5 in the 2008 Belgian GP, and it did rain! But his efforts and hours of practice would pay off at the following weekend in Monza when the conditions remained the same. But Vettel was far ahead of anyone!

After 53 wins and 4-World Championships, Sebastian Vettel looks back proudly at how far he has come. He said, “When I crossed the chequered flag, I realised I had just won the race.”

He adds, “It was unbelievable to see all the people going crazy around the circuit. It was the best lap I ever did in Monza. Obviously, it was not the fastest, but for sure it was the best one.”

Vettel will be retiring at the end of the 2022 season. But the win in Monza, in rain, will always remain special to the German.

Also Read: Sebastian Vettel, who won 6 Nations’ Cup with Michael Schumacher, will return to racing post-retirement at ROC