F1's Vettel Extends his Stay with Red Bull

The World Champion Signs a Contract To Keep Him with the Team Until the End of the 2014 Season

With the F1 Season about to get under way in Australia at the end of March, news continues to come in concerning the behind-the-scenes politics of the sport. But whilst recent reports have regularly focused on the cancelled Bahrain Grand Prix that was due to begin the season earlier this month, the news today concerns the current World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The driver has signed a new contract with his bosses at Red Bull to ensure that he stays with the team until the end of 2014 at the earliest.

Those in the know have been commenting on the young drivers’ commitment to negotiating his own deals with his bosses, hammering out the conditions of the new contract himself in a way that many drivers of his age rarely do. The Daily Telegraph highlights rival Lewis Hamilton as having recently signed to the management agency XIX Entertainment to handle such issues. It means that Vettel is very much in control of his destiny – and a fortune that is said to by around £10 million a year

Sebastian Vettel is a 23-year-old driver from Germany who became the youngest World Champion of Formula One in 2010 when he took the title at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the year. It was an exciting spectacle and one that had the rare feat of featuring four drivers racing in contention for the championship – they included British Lewis Hamilton, Spanish Fernando Alonso and Australian Mark Webber, in addition to Vettel. It was at the end of a season that had seen Jenson Button attempt to defend his own championship title that he clinched in 2009 ahead of his switch to McLaren for the 2010 season.

The organisers of the Bahrain Grand Prix have until May to decide if they can reschedule the race after its postponement. It followed unrest in the small island country as part of the wave of protest that engulfed Tunisia and Egypt (and looks set to plunge Lybia into Civil War). Hopes have not been held high, however, particularly as the region has established a three-month state of emergency as of 15th March 2011.

The 2011 F1 Season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday 27th March 2011.