Photo: Red Bull Racing; image edited by autoevolution
After he went through professional karting series, the German Formula BMW, the Formula 3 Euro and Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Sebastian Vettel became the third driver for the BMW Sauber team at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix. In just three years since that moment, Vettal was hired by Red Bull Racing.
Now 27 years of age, the F1 prodigy managed to win the drivers' championship four years in a row, becoming the youngest driver ever to win the drivers' championship, then the youngest double, triple and quadruple world champ in Formula 1. Some enthusiasts and Formula 1 commentators dubbed his as the new Schumacher and easy to understand why.
He's a very ruthless driver that always races to win a Grand Prix or get that pole position. Furthermore, his aggressive yet technical driving style, together with his tough psyche as a professional racecar driver render him the take no prisoners / give no quarter type, a la Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
However, things haven't been going well for him in the 2014 season, mainly because Red Bull's Renault V6 engine is one of the least powerful and reliable on the grid. That's why a frustrated Vettel decided he'll jump ship to Scuderia Ferrari the following season, taking the place of Fernando Alonso, the latter expected to sign a three-year deal with the McLaren Honda team.
Although nobody knows if the Scuderia will actually make a better handling car next year, one that'll be competitive against the dominant Mercedes-AMG single seaters, Vettel has something to look forward to - his new salary. The DailyMail reports that driving for Ferrari equates to £50 million a year, translating to approximately $80 million, making the young German a better paid sportsman than Lebron James ($72.3 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($52 million salary) and NFL superstar Matt Ryan ($42 million per year).
Good on you, champ! Now let's see if you'll like next year's Ferrari F15 T more than the Red Bull RB10.
He's a very ruthless driver that always races to win a Grand Prix or get that pole position. Furthermore, his aggressive yet technical driving style, together with his tough psyche as a professional racecar driver render him the take no prisoners / give no quarter type, a la Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
However, things haven't been going well for him in the 2014 season, mainly because Red Bull's Renault V6 engine is one of the least powerful and reliable on the grid. That's why a frustrated Vettel decided he'll jump ship to Scuderia Ferrari the following season, taking the place of Fernando Alonso, the latter expected to sign a three-year deal with the McLaren Honda team.
Although nobody knows if the Scuderia will actually make a better handling car next year, one that'll be competitive against the dominant Mercedes-AMG single seaters, Vettel has something to look forward to - his new salary. The DailyMail reports that driving for Ferrari equates to £50 million a year, translating to approximately $80 million, making the young German a better paid sportsman than Lebron James ($72.3 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($52 million salary) and NFL superstar Matt Ryan ($42 million per year).
Good on you, champ! Now let's see if you'll like next year's Ferrari F15 T more than the Red Bull RB10.
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