Champion Vettel happy without a manager

From a boyish test driver at BMW a few years to the 2010 world champion of today, Sebastian Vettel has had no manager — and he likes it that way.

“I’m fine,” he said in March as he began his campaign to become the youngest drivers’ title winner in formula one history.

Red Bull driver Vettel, 23, said this week that his championship success has changed nothing about his attitude towards handling his own career.

“I think there were also some earlier drivers who have made it without managers,” said the German, referring to Gerhard Berger and Niki Lauda, a triple world champion.

“There are people in the team who I can turn to and also people from outside, like friends and family,” Vettel told Austrian television Servus TV.

“If you’re about to make an important decision, you talk to the people you want to take to.  Then, after everything, you make the decision for yourself and I don’t want that to change,” he insisted.

According to Gerd Noack, the carpet shop owner who discovered Vettel as well as the German superstar Michael Schumacher, managers can actually cause a lot of damage.

He thinks that is the case for Nico Hulkenberg, who is managed by Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber.

“If Weber had found enough sponsors for Nico, he would not now be looking for a new team,” Noack is quoted by Tagesspiegel.

“Willi always positions himself as a big discoverer.  Well, he has a big nose, but whether he has the right nose — I doubt it,” added Noack.

 © RIF | GMM