Dominant. That’s the only word to describe Sebastian Vettel’s performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix today.
Regardless of whether you like the guy or not, you can’t fail to admire his talent. The form that he has at the moment, which has resulted in seven consecutive victories, is incredible. If ever you wanted an example of a sports athlete and his team working in perfect harmony, this is surely it.
As such, he claims The Checkered Flag’s driver of the day award this week. Perhaps it is not the most prestigious accolade he has racked up in the space of seven days, but he is the worthy candidate.
A self-confessed error in qualifying meant he started from second place on the grid. But as soon as the lights went out, that’s the last any of his competitors ever saw of him. In a year of so many highlights for Vettel, it is hard to know where this victory ranks.
Arguably, his performance throughout the whole of the Singapore Grand Prix weekend was more dominant. But without doubt, this came a close second.
It is very difficult to imagine anyone else other than the four times champion winning the remaining two races of this season. Yet that mind-set devalues the achievements of Vettel and Red Bull. However simple a race victory it may look, it requires a huge effort to be so utterly dominant.
In the Grand Prix for drivers who aren’t called Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg’s performance today deserves a mention. Regardless of Hamilton’s wishbone failure in qualifying yesterday, Rosberg once again had the better of his highly rated team mate. He ran in second place for the opening stint of the race, following a terrific start.
Ultimately he lost a position to Mark Webber. Yet it was impressive of how close Rosberg managed to stay to Webber right till the chequered flag. At a time when Red Bull is clearly head and shoulders above the competition, it was perhaps unrealistic to expect anything better than the third step on the podium. Therefore, Rosberg can leave Abu Dhabi rightly pleased of his strong performances in the last two races.
Those are my choices this week. Do you agree with them? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
