Monza will forever hold a special place in Sebastian Vettel’s heart as it was here in 2008 he piloted a Toro Rosso to one of F1’s most incredible underdog victories. LukeSmithF1 recounts that history making feat on this day, 14 years ago:
When Sebastian Vettel hangs up his helmet and retires from Formula 1 at the end of the year, few circuits will hold fonder memories for him than Monza.
But it was not in Ferrari colours where Vettel enjoyed his greatest high at Monza. On this day in 2008, he stunned the paddock and staked his claim as a future star by scoring his first grand prix victory for Toro Rosso in heavy rain, going down as one of F1’s great underdog victories. “I was joking with my engineers, we were saying if it is wet, then we have to go for pole position,” said Vettel. “It’s unbelievable. The conditions were so difficult today, a lot of water. You never knew how much water to expect.
It meant Vettel cycled back to the front once Kovalainen pitted four laps later, but it was the second McLaren of Hamilton who was now becoming more of a threat. McLaren had fuelled him heavily to try and make up for the qualifying setback, allowing him to tear into Vettel’s lead as he neared the end of his stint. With more heavy rain expected, McLaren brought Hamilton in for another set of full wets and fuelled him to the end, knowing Vettel still had to pit once more.
And that’s exactly what Vettel did. Showing the kind of clinical precision that would make him so hard to beat in his future heyday with Red Bull, he crossed the line 12s clear of the pack to score a remarkable maiden victory. At 21 years and 73 days, Sebastian Vettel was the youngest winner in Formula 1 history.
Although the Faenza team would go on to score a second miracle win at Monza in 2020, under its AlphaTauri guise courtesy of Pierre Gasly, a lot had changed by then. Back in 2008, it was still an incredibly small operation going up against free-spending manufacturers.
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