With seven Formula One races still to go on the year, Sebastian Vettel already has amassed a season greater than his championship run in 2010. Last year's numbers were extremely impressive: five wins and 10 podiums while pacing the field for more than a third of the total laps. Those, however, are merely a shadow of his 2011 statistics.
Through 12 events, Vettel has won seven times and finished outside the podium just once (fourth in Germany). He already has collected more points than all of last season and has been out in front after nearly two-thirds of the laps run.
After his title run last season, the prime fear among the competition was that he would only get better. That's clearly been the case this year, and it's no doubt a scary proposition for opponents, considering he is just 24 years old.
The prospects of a championship for any other driver at this point are extremely bleak, as Vettel is 92 points clear of second-place driver Mark Webber. The Australian did ensure a 1-2 Red Bull finish Sunday, the second such result for the team this year, but had yet another poor start off the grid, dropping from third to eighth on the opening lap at the Belgian Grand Prix. It's the eighth time this season that Webber has lost position after the first lap, the most among the top five drivers in the championship standings.
Constantly trying to make up ground can prove exceedingly difficult in this sport, and it helps to explain why Webber has led fewer laps than each of his top four competitors this year. All things considered, it's a testament to his keen ability to fight back that he sits runner-up in the championship race.
A tip of the hat also goes out to Pastor Maldonado, who had quite the eventful weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. After being docked five places on the grid for causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, Maldonado fought back from 21st and wound up with a 10th-place finish, collecting the first point of his career. No driver had earned his first career points at Spa since Christian Klien in 2004. Before that, the last driver to do so was Mark Blundell way back in 1991, which happened to be Michael Schumacher's first F1 race.
Twenty years later, the seven-time series champion demonstrated supreme fight Sunday by finishing fifth after starting last on the grid because of an accident mere minutes into qualifying. By the end of the first lap, the six-time Spa winner already had jumped to 14th. He described his run to reporters postrace, "A wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend here in Spa. I think more than fifth place would not have been possible today, but making up 19 places was a good feeling. With all my family, friends and fans here, it was an extra motivation. At the beginning, I was a bit afraid that some of the flying parts might hit and damage my car, but I was lucky that nothing happened. After that, I had big fun hunting and making my way forward."
Schumacher capped off his run by overtaking teammate Nico Rosberg in the final few laps, a move that no doubt sweetened his race weekend. Nearly 300 grand prix starts in, Schumacher is still experiencing career firsts; never before had he made up as many as 19 positions in a single race.
Fans also had a chance to see Bruno Senna in a competitive F1 car for the first time in his career. After riding with HRT last season, Senna replaced Nick Heidfeld at Spa and beyond, and he did not disappoint in qualifying. The nephew of Ayrton Senna started the race seventh, just one spot worse than the best starting position by a Renault driver all season. But an error entering the first turn meant he made contact with Jaime Alguersuari, effectively ending any chance at a strong finish.
Regardless, Senna flashed his true potential with a brilliant performance in qualifying, and the prospect of seeing him compete with a fairly strong team is an exciting one.
