Formula One 
/ Ralph Ellis / 21 June 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Vettel in the Montreal rain - he will prefer the dry of Spain
"Vettel is [1.6] to take his sixth pole of the season, yet he’s [2.22] to win the race. Given his performances so far, that’s great value."
After a late error cost him the race in Canada, the World Champion is heading to Spain this weekend, determined to return to winning ways, says Ralph Ellis.
My mum, bless her, was always one for sayings. You know the sort of thing. I bet your mum was the same. 'You can't judge a book by its cover'; 'Plenty more fish in the sea'; 'Many a true word spoken in jest.'
She had another which I've kept as a favourite: 'He who never made a mistake, never made anything.' I still regularly trot it out now when I've mucked up at work, or failed at anything else I've tried. It's a good mantra because if you're scared to do things wrong then you'll never do anything at all.
I've just finished reading Matthew Syed's excellent book Bounce, on the psychology of creating a sporting champion. Among other things he's worked out that an Olympic figure-skating gold medal winner had fallen on her backside 20,000 times. It's not making mistakes that matters, it's how you learn from them and don't make them again.
Which brings us to Sebastian Vettel, who so spectacularly stuffed up on the last lap of the Canadian Grand Prix. The German was an absolute cert for his sixth win in seven races of the season so far until he lost control on a bend and let Jenson Button fly past him. It was an astonishing error, one that reminded you of how last year began with Vettel repeatedly starting on pole but failing to win.
You may recall. The 2010 season began with Vettel going through a series of blunders. Three times in the first four races of the season he qualified in first place, and each time he mucked it up. It wasn't until Valencia and the European Grand Prix that he was quickest in qualifying and led the race from start to finish. He had learned from what went wrong, and he went on learning all season to collect the title.
At every level sport encourages you to analyse performance and get better. This week, whether it's Vettel and Lewis Hamilton at the front of the grid, or Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan trying to reward some home support in Valencia for his Hispania Racing Team, everybody is trying to improve.
So it's a fair bet Vettel is heading to Spain with the thought in mind that he won't repeat what happened in Montreal. If he qualifies in pole, he'll win. Especially where the weather is dry, and the track warm. On a street circuit which is probably the toughest for overtaking in the calendar, even harder than Monaco, that's worth remembering.
Vettel is [1.6] to take his sixth pole of the season, yet he's [2.22] to win the race and, given his performances so far, that's great value.
I began this season thinking it made sense to lay Vettel at the start of Grand Prix weeks when the reigning champion was always such a short price. Yet even when I'd lost money doing that, I still sent some more down the drain by backing Lewis Hamilton in Monaco and Montreal. This week I've decided to learn from those mistakes and put my money on Vettel. At last. Now what was it my mum used to say?
Five things you might not know about Narain Karthikeyan
1. Born in Chennai in January 1977, his father G.R.Karthikeyan was seven times South India rally driving champion
2. Inspired by watching Formula One on TV, he persuaded his dad to send him age 14 to France to enrol in the Elf Winfred Racing School. From there he went to England and got a degree in business administration
3. Outside motor sport his big passion is wildlife photography.
4. He has had tutoring from Sachin Tendulkar on how to deal with the pressures of fame in India
5. His cousin is top Indian businesswoman Rajshree Pathy, chairman of the Indian Sugar Mills Association
Button brings home the bacon for his In-Play backers with unbelievable come-from-behind win...
The world champion may be starting in pole position but James Frankland believes a certain Spaniard can upset the odds in Canada on Sunday night....
Lewis Hamilton is Romilly Evans' pick for the Canadian GP, he only wishes the McLaren driver was more graceful....
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