O

n Thursday’s meet-the-media session outside Red Bull’s motor home just prior to the Belgium Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel’s public relations officer ushered the German toward my spot, in the media scrum that always ensues during such events.

Standing next to me was a colleague from Speed TV in the US. We thrust our microphones beneath Vettel’s blonde-stubbled jaw and I asked if during the lengthy summer break he had become complacent over his enormous lead in the Drivers’ Championship.

Typically, Vettel paused to consider his response with a boyish smile and gracious expression. He wasn’t going to be sucked into that one.

His ambition was to win, his desire was strong and his summer break had been spent escaping the sport. Now back, his hunger had been refreshed.

Knowing that our time was limited I gave way to my colleague. He had recorded Vettel’s answer to my question and the unwritten code allowed me to do so with his. Annoyingly for me, he asked the same question, but prefaced it with a statistic that got me thinking.

According to his research, Vettel could fail to win every race from now to the end of the season but as long as he stood upon the bottom step of the podium, would still win the Drivers’ Championship.

Clearly, complacency would not yet become an issue for the reigning champion, he went on to win at Spa Francorchamps, so what now does Vettel have to do to hold onto his title now?

Leading by 92 points with seven races left, the writing is on the wall for everyone else. Vettel can afford to drop 13 points to his nearest rival in every race and still come out on top after the finale in Brazil. That means that fourth in every race is now good enough for another Vettel championship.

Look at it another way: If Vettel wins each of the next three races, even if his nearest challenger comes second, that third consecutive win (in Japan) will seal the championship, with four races still to go.

The race before that is in Singapore and if Vettel wins at Monza this weekend while his nearest rivals fail to score well, Singapore’s Marina Bay could be the location where Vettel is crowned once again.

Steve Dawson presents the Italian Grand Prix this Sunday on STAR Sports. His latest book, How To Be The Greatest Like Muhammad Ali will be published this month.