Red Bull design guru Adrian Newey believes Sebastian Vettel's level-headed attitude has been the key to his success.
Reigning Formula One world champion Vettel is currently romping away this year as the 23-year-old leads the standings by 60 points ahead of a chasing pack spearheaded by McLaren's Jenson Button.Newey, who has spent virtually his entire career working in F1, has been left amazed by the cool approach adopted by Vettel for one so young.
"The very special thing with Sebastian is how mature he is at this age," said Newey on formula1.com.
"I've seen so often that when drivers suddenly rise from obscurity to incredible stardom and fame that it goes to their head.
"They lose ground and their head gets a bit too big. Sebastian is remarkably level headed.
"He is a very private man and isn't into the fame at all. He thinks a lot about what he does and rarely makes the same mistake twice, and he is very hard working.
"He is always in the paddock in the evening, speaking with his engineers, going through the data and reflecting on what he did in the car.
"I think that's one thing all great drivers have in common."
Newey, the most successful designer in F1 with seven titles to his name with Williams, McLaren and now Red Bull, concedes the pressure of striving to be the best does take its toll.
"It's a constant stress so it is simply the level I live on," added Newey.
"I find my biggest enemy is time. The job is very time consuming - and can be over consuming if you are not careful.
"Then when I find myself idle for an hour, I almost feel guilty about it because I am not doing something. So time is the biggest pressure.
"Of course, there is also the pressure to do well. If you are doing badly then you want to do well, and then when you do, you are under pressure to maintain it. It's the eternal circle."
Naturally for Newey, the pressure for this season is obvious as he said: "We have to win the championship - nothing less."
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