“Typically he’d get into the lead, open out a devastating gap in the first two or three laps, and then just monitor it from there, and just keep just out of reach.” That’s how veteran F1 journalist Mark Hughes perfectly sums up the peak Sebastian Vettel Red Bull era in a recent clip from The Race Members’ Club, highlighted by @wearetherace.

If you were watching Formula One between 2010 and 2013, you already know exactly what Hughes is talking about. The lights would go out, Sebastian Vettel would absolutely vanish into the distance by lap three, and then you’d essentially just watch him manage his tires for the next hour and a half.

But how exactly was he doing it? Why was Vettel suddenly light-years ahead of his own teammate, Mark Webber, in the exact same machinery?

Vettel Mastered the “Blown Diffuser” Dark Arts

It all came down to a completely unnatural driving technique tailored perfectly to Adrian Newey’s greatest weapon: the exhaust-blown diffuser.

To get maximum downforce out of those V8-era Red Bulls, the hot exhaust gases had to be constantly blowing over the rear floor. A normal driver approaches a slow corner, lifts off the throttle, coasts to the apex, and then slowly squeezes the gas on the exit. But if you completely lift off the throttle in a blown diffuser car, the exhaust gases stop flowing, and you instantly lose a massive chunk of your aerodynamic rear grip.

So, Vettel did something completely counterintuitive. He would purposely squeeze the throttle while turning into the apex. To any normal racer, mashing the gas mid-corner is a guaranteed one-way ticket into the nearest tire barrier. But for Vettel, that early burst of throttle sent a massive blast of exhaust gas over the diffuser, instantly gluing the rear tires to the tarmac right when he needed it most.

The Double-Edged Sword

Was it a ludicrous way to drive a race car? Absolutely. But it made him nearly invincible through low-speed traction zones.

The problem? It completely hardwired his brain to rely on extreme rear-end stability. Once the FIA banned the blown diffusers in 2014, and when he later moved to a Ferrari that loved to step out at the rear, Vettel notoriously struggled to overwrite his own muscle memory.

But for four glorious years? Seb wasn’t just driving the car; he was playing an entirely different sport than the rest of the grid.