In the spotlight: Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is half way through the Formula 1 season, that may or may not crown him with another world championship, making it his third consecutive one. After the season where he dominated the standings and left everyone in his dust, this time round he's having to work even harder to ensure that he can keep a grasp of that Formula 1 title.

Back in March saw Australia host the opening round to this championship and with no one knowing what to expect, it was definitely a season to keep a watch on. With the new regulations put in place, brand new Pirelli compounds and no real stand out team during pre season testing, everything was to play for.
With a disappointing qualifying session for the young German, his only goal was to better this on race day, and with that in mind, Vettel finished 2.1 seconds behind the winner Jenson Button and was able hold on to second place from the other McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

The next two races, Malaysia and China, were ones to forgot with the double world champion. Just missing out on the points in Malaysia and fifth position in China, after failing to make it into the final part of qualifying for the first time since the Brazilian Grand Prix back in 2009.

A lot of controversy surrounded the Bahrain Grand Prix, but Sebastian Vettel managed to keep his cool in the Gulf heat and put his Red Bull Racing on pole for the first time this season. Lewis Hamilton joined him on the front row with team mate Mark Webber right behind him and ready to pounce.
Race day arrived and all eyes were on the front of the grid. Sebastian Vettel kept his lead throughout the race but was battling it out with the iceman himself Kimi Raikkonen. After a season where Red Bull dominated, four races in and Sebastian Vettel got his first victory of 2012.

Spain, Monaco and Canada were all steady performances by Vettel with a sixth and two fourth place finishes. Even though he started on pole in Canada, the pace of the McLaren with Lewis Hamilton behind the wheel, was just too hard to beat.

The European Grand Prix looked strong for Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel as they were aiming for a third consecutive pole position and win. Qualifying was all about Vettel but race day wasn't a walk in a flowery meadow. An alternator failure meant an early retirement for the world champion and watching the rest of the race from the comfort of the Red Bull energy station.

Finishing third at the British grand prix and fifth at his home grand prix after being demoted of third due to an illegal overtake on Jenson Button, saw Vettel slowly but surely, catch up to team mate Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso in the drivers championship.
The Hungarian grand prix, the race before the five week long summer break, was crucial for teams and drivers to score as many points as they could, to try and better their position in the championships. Sebastian Vettel finished fourth and bagged 12 more points to add to his tally before Spa gets underway at the end of the month.

Sebastian Vettel currently sits third in the drivers championship, only two points behind team mate Mark Webber and 42 points behind championship leader, Fernando Alonso.

All is to play for with the next nine races. We saw in 2010 that anything can happen. This final half of the season is different going to be one to watch.