The incredibly boyish looking Vettel almost cuts a childlike figure amidst the high octane F1 paddock, but the mop-haired German teenager has already proved to be a formidable talent with a maturity beyond his years.
The surprise opportunity to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix in place of the indisposed Robert Kubica led to Sebastian becoming the sport's youngest-ever points scorer at 19 years and 345 days, when he took eighth place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Being the son of an enthusiastic hill climb and karting competitor, saw Sebastian behind the wheel of karts as a toddler and he made his competition debut aged just seven.
In 1997 he took his first German title and after moving up to the European series, he was crowned champion in both the Junior and Senior classes before taking the big step into cars for the 2003 season.
His talent was immediately in evidence in the Formula BMW series as he ended his debut year in second place overall, taking the top rookie honours in the process. The following year the German youngster was totally dominant in winning 18 of the 20 races and this naturally ensured his promotion to the F3 Euro Series for 2005.
Although Lewis Hamilton was the runaway champion, Vettel once again made a great impression in his rookie year, taking fifth overall and won the golden opportunity to test an F1 Williams-BMW as a reward for his Formula BMW success.
In 2006 Vettel found himself in a close fought battle for title honours with the equally talented Paul di Resta, but despite four victories, the German lost out in the title chase at the final round out of the championship in Hockenheim.
By this time however Sebastian had already made his mark at Grand Prix level following the abrupt departure of Jacques Villeneuve from the BMW Sauber squad halfway through the 2006 season. His first appearances as the third driver in Friday test sessions in Turkey and Italy saw him top the timing sheets, and immediately cement his place as a key member of the BMW F1 squad for the following year.
Vettel began 2007 by combining his test role with the BMW Sauber F1 team with a campaign in the World Series by Renault. He was leading the way for Carlin after round 7 too - 74 points to the 51 of his nearest rival, Alvaro Parente - until his F1 chance came and he switched focuses. Despite that though he was still classified fifth in the end of season WsBR standings.
Post-Indianapolis and having finished eighth on his F1 debut, he was courted by Toro Rosso team boss, Gerhard Berger and with the support of his long-time backers Red Bull, he was drafted in to replace Scott Speed at STR for the final seven races of the 2007 F1 season.
After shining at Indianapolis, Vettel again made his mark with STR. Indeed despite throwing away a probable third place finish in the rain-hit Japanese GP, after running into the back Mark Webber, he made amends at the very next event in China, bringing his car home in fourth place and taking the team's best result to date.
Vettel will now continue with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2008, when he will link up with Champ Car star Sebastian Bourdais.
