Sebastian Vettel first came onto the Formula One scene at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix where, at 19 years old, he became the youngest driver to take part in a grand prix weekend. And on that first day in the spotlight, he set the quickest time on what experts think is one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar.
In Formula BMW prior to that, Vettel captured 18 wins in 20 starts, and 15 pole positions, 16 fastest race laps and 387 points out of a possible maximum of 400. Because of his strength in this series BMW-Sauber hired Vettel as their Friday tester for the last five rounds of the 2006 championship.
Vettel remained with the team as its third driver in 2007 and saw his Formula One race debut at the United States Grand Prix, when he subbed for Robert Kubica. He came home in eighth place, thus joining a handful of drivers who have scored points on their debut.
He then moved over to Red Bull's Scuderia Toro Rosso team in August replacing Scott Speed. Vettel brought the team its first fourth-place finish in China that year.
The young driver partnered with Sebastian Bourdais at Toro Rosso for the 2008 season. Vettel had a historic year when he became the youngest winner in Formula One history after winning the 2008 Grand Prix of Italy. The day before, he was the youngest pole winner in series history and he led every lap en route to the victory. He also brought STR its first victory at the team's home race.
Vettel finished the season with 35 points after scoring points in nine of the season's last 13 races. His success prompted Red Bull to promote him to its main F1 team in 2009 to replace the retiring David Coulthard.
