Vettel knocked out his competitors in Europe

The European “season” having concluded with the Italian Grand Prix held on Sunday, it is time to take stock of the races held on the Old Continent before the drivers embark on a world tour—which will first pass through Asia, then the Middle East, and finally South America. You can find below the top six drivers ranked according to the average number of points scored per race before the start of the European season in Turkey—during the Australian, Malaysian, and Chinese Grand Prix.

Average number of points per race before the European season:

Sebastian Vettel – 22.67 points per race

2) Lewis Hamilton – 15.67 points per race

3) Jenson Button – 12.67 points per race

4) Mark Webber – 12.33 points per race

5) Fernando Alonso – 8.67 points per race

6) Felipe Massa – 8 points per race

One can see from this list of headliners that even before the Formula One Circus arrived in Europe, it was already clear that two teams stood out: Red Bull Racing and McLaren Mercedes. However, one driver stands out in particular in this ranking, Sebastian Vettel, who scored more points than his rivals.

In Europe, the reigning world champion continued to string together good and even very good performances – six wins and 9 podiums in 10 races. He managed to almost maintain the same pace as during the first three races of the season, as you can see below, with the ranking by average number of points scored between the Turkish GP and the Italian GP – including Canada because the race was in line with the dynamic of the European races.

Average number of points scored during the European season:

Sebastian Vettel – 21.6 points per race

2) Fernando Alonso – 14.6 points per race

3) Mark Webber – 14 points per race

4) Jenson Button – 11.9 points per race

5) Lewis Hamilton – 11.1 points per race

6) Felipe Massa – 5.8 points per race

This ranking clearly shows that Sebastian Vettel has managed to maintain an incredible level of performance unlike his competitors. Of course, some will say that he has an excellent car, but that’s not everything as we can see with Mark Webber. What makes Sebastian Vettel strong is that he has matured since his first title, he no longer makes, or almost no longer makes, mistakes compared to previous years. One could almost say he has become a cold and meticulous driver, but this is not the case, as we saw at Monza when he was on the verge of tears on the podium.

Average number of points scored since the start of the season:

Sebastian Vettel – 21.85 points per race

2) Fernando Alonso – 13.23 points per race

3) Jenson Button – 12.85 points per race

4) Mark Webber – 12.85 points per race

5) Lewis Hamilton – 12.15 points per race

6) Felipe Massa – 6.31 points per race

We can see from this ranking that behind Sebastian Vettel no driver really stands out, which has allowed him to have a quite comfortable lead today – 112 points with only six races left in the season. His worst finishing position this season is fourth place, which would be an excellent position for many other drivers, and he has therefore almost always finished on the podium – except in Germany – and most often ahead of his rivals. And behind him, his rivals have never finished in the same order, thus sharing the points.

We can also see that the return to form of McLaren or Ferrari is not that significant. So if Sebastian Vettel continues at the same pace, he should undoubtedly be the best positioned for his own succession at the end of the season, or even before!