German racer Sebastian Vettel captured his first victory for Ferrari in the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 29 and he dedicated his dream win to his childhood hero, former Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher, who is still struggling towards full recovery from a skiing accident almost 15 months ago.
Vettel said that he really felt incredible beating reigning F1 world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in only his second race for the Ferrari team, notes BBC.
Overwhelmed by emotions, Vettel paid tribute to fellow German racer Michael Schumacher for the inspiration that he has given him while growing up as well as to the other kids in the go-kart track who looked up to Schumi.
He said that it has been his dream to win for Ferrari because of Schumacher. He remembered back then that when Michael was shaking their hands in the racetrack, it already made their lives. He still cannot understand how and why it is always such a special thing for everyone.
Vettel is all praises for the excellent track record of Schumacher for Ferrari, where the latter won five consecutive titles for the team from 2000 to 2004.
He said that Michael has surely left very large footsteps for Ferrari but he is actually targeting not to fill those large large footsteps by his countryman but to leave some new ones.
Start of turnaround
Vettel’s victory signals the promised turnaround for Ferrari this year in F1 racing. The team had its worst season last year for the last 21 years. Because of the disappointing year that was 2014, Fernando Alonso decided to leave the team after five years and transferred to McLaren.
The German racer was signed to replace the Spaniard. In addition to having a new driver, the team also replaced its entire group of senior engineers as well as changed team principal too.
It seems like the adjustments and the changes have started paying off for Ferrari, with Vettel as its new driver.
Vettel won four consecutive titles with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013 but he decided to leave the team after undergoing a tough year last year where he was outpaced by teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
Ferrari had a bad year last year and so was Vettel. But when they were combined together, something clicked and it looks like the changes did them both well.
Back in the groove
Vettel said that 2014 was not a good year for him. Although they had a great car with Red Bull then, he struggled mightily to extract from it a winning performance.
He said that this year’s car suits him very well. He said it’s been a while since he really felt good and in the groove at the driver’s seat. He is happy that he made the first win for Ferrari and he was speechless about it.
The German racer said that the changes during the winter made by Ferrari and the warm welcome that the team gave him have been quite amazing. He feels that the victory was a great achievement for a great car.