Instead of heading returning directly to post race parc ferme, Seb took his “Hungry Heidi” (that’s what he calls his car), to the start-finish line, where he enthralled the crowd by performing a doughnut and burning rubber in front of the Main Grand Stand. He then got out of car, and bowed in front of the car, as a sign of respect. After that, he went towards the stand and threw his gloves into the crowd, who were in disbelief of what they had just seen. Thousands of fans enjoyed the moment, and even more enjoyed it on the television set, but this was obviously not what Seb is supposed to do, according to FIA.
FIA has fined Red Bull and Vettel a sum of £21,000 (INR 21 lakh) for not following the procedure. This has not gone down well with fans. The official communique read: ‘The stewards, having received a report from the race director, heard from the driver and the team representative, examined video/audio evidence, have considered the following matter, and determine a breach of the regulations has been committed.’
Speaking before the punishment was dished out, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: ‘I would be disappointed if he did [get punished] because to win a world championship and to show a bit of exuberance in front of a crowd like that, it is great for Formula One. ‘It is great for the show – and it will be a great pity to see that kind of thing subdued or penalised.’ Vettel said of his party piece: ‘When my engineer called for the usual procedure to go to parc ferme and park the car, I said to myself I don’t care. I am going to the crowd at the main grandstand to have some fun there, which I enjoyed a lot.’
Later, continuing with his celebrations, Vettel did a ‘Namaste’ to crowds at the Buddh International Circuit as he received his fourth straight title at the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix on Sunday. Speaking to media at the Circuit, post his historic win, Vettel was overjoyed and emotional and was ecstatic at his win in India, which holds a special place for him where winning of the championships is concerned.
Vettel, 26, now joins the ranks of Juan Manuel Fangio (5), Alain Prost (4) and Michael Schumacher (7) to become the fourth driver in history to win four titles in a row. He is also the youngest man to win four titles and the youngest driver to score points, lead a race and win besides be on pole and win a championship. He has won the constructor’s championship for the fourth time and won all three Indian GPs to date.
He was congratulated by Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull and the four time champion also thanked his team while doing doughnuts in celebration of his win. He was joined on podium by car designer Adrian Newey, to whom Vettel owes much of his success.
