If, at the end of 2006, someone had approached me and said that in less than two years time, a 21-year-old will win a race for Toro Rosso, I’d have laughed straight in their face. When was the last time a backmarker claimed a victory? Cue Olivier Panis in the Ligier at Monaco 1996, or Damon Hill’s Jordan in a sodden 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. Or I suppose it could have been Giancarlo Fisichella, also of Jordan, amid the confusion that reigned in Sao Paulo in early 2003. It wasn’t even clear who’d taken the chequered flag until days after the event, so I’m not altogether sure you can really count that one.

What’s certain though, even after considering Sebastian Vettel’s points-scoring debut for BMW Sauber, and noting his dogged determination at the helm of the Toro Rosso, I still wouldn’t have had him down as a race winner at the start of 2008.

But what do I know? He’s since proven himself to be a rain-master, a go-getter and an outright title challenger. He’s ballsy, quirky and virtually unstoppable if the conditions are right and the car doesn’t break. It begs the question – just how good is he going to be once he reaches his peak? For his 22 years, he comes across as incredibly mature. He bears a little too much uncanny resemblance to a certain Michael Schumacher for my liking; but he’s got his head screwed on right, I’ll give him that.

He’s got one hell of a teammate in the shape of Mark Webber, though. The Aussie is cool, calm, collected, and undoubtedly one of the smartest men on the grid. It’s a crying shame that he’s attracted so much bad luck over the seasons, but he finally began to put all that behind him with two storming victories in 2009. It seemed the bad luck had reared its ugly head once again at lights-out in Bahrain, with Mark’s engine pouring smoke as the 24-strong pack roared into the first corner. However, he managed to recover and hung on to eighth place, and four championship points.

Vettel’s 2010 campaign started off better than Webber’s, with the young German grabbing pole in Bahrain and leading virtually all the way. It was a head-in-hands moment for Seb fans everywhere as he started to slow on the 33rd lap, dragged under the water by a cracked exhaust or dodgy spark plug. Whatever the cause of his misfortune, he was powerless to stop the surging Ferraris and a flying Hamilton from stealing his thunder. Fourth was the best he could manage.

This year’s Red Bull has already shown its potential, with a pole in the bag and an evident competitive edge in the race. The key is consistency, and if they manage to curb their teething problems they’ll be in the title mix for sure. As for which Red Bull driver will emerge on top, it’s almost inevitable that it will be Vettel. He beat Webber last season, and looks set to do the same again if the Bahrain result is anything to go by.

But I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for Mark in the next race. He deserves to feel the sense of jubilation a home win would give him. It’s about time the unluckiest guy on the grid had his moment in the spotlight.

Join me and Victoria on Formula1FanCast.com’s Fantasy League Formula 1 2010. Our league is called Formula1Fancast.com and the league pin is 722. Try and beat us if you can, but be warned we’re good!

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