Vettel Appointed as Director of Performance at Infiniti

freshmeat · Mar 29, 2013

Ok Vettel fan boys ditch your Ferrari & grab an Infiniti. You will be missed dearly

On the opening day of the New York International Auto Show, Infiniti announced Sebastian Vettel, Infiniti Red Bull Racing driver and triple Formula One World Champion, as Director of Performance for the premium automotive brand.

This latest announcement extends and enhances Vettel’s relationship with Infiniti which formally began in 2011. In this capacity, Vettel already has played a crucial role in developing Infiniti’s vehicle line-up, starting with the exclusive Infiniti FX Vettel Edition and most recently with the all-new Infiniti Q50.

Making the announcement, Infiniti President Johan de Nysschen said: "Sebastian’s talent and ability behind the wheel is unquestionable and his role in developing Infiniti vehicles has already proven invaluable. How many premium automotive brands can honestly say its vehicles have been developed alongside a triple World Champion? As our technical collaboration with Infiniti Red Bull Racing continues to deepen, so does our relationship with Sebastian who will be crucial to the development of our future vehicle line-up, ensuring Infiniti stands for passion and performance in a brand that challenges the status quo."

Vettel has been central to the development of the new Infiniti Q50 from its early stages. He spent time with Infiniti engineers in Japan, providing them with his world-class chassis dynamics, performance and handling feedback. He was then involved in testing early models alongside Infiniti Red Bull Racing Test and Reserve driver Sebastien Buemi in Japan, around the famed Nürburgring in Germany, and at the Formula One pre-season test at the Spanish Circuit de Catalunya in early March.

As Title and Vehicle Performance Partner of Infiniti Red Bull Racing from the start of the 2013 Formula One season, Infiniti has deepened its technical relationship with the Team. This announcement ensures that Vettel will become involved in the development of more future Infiniti vehicles.

"I am really happy to extend my relationship with Infiniti and become their Director of Performance," said Sebastian Vettel. "Helping to develop the Infiniti Q50 was a very different type of driving duty for me but I approached it in exactly the same way as I do my Formula One car. I am looking forward to working closely with Infiniti in developing more of their road cars into the future."
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TifosiUSA · Mar 29, 2013

I can't wait for flexi bumpers on the Infiniti products. Infiniti could blow all the diffusers in their entire lineup with that amount of hot air in that press release.

sindo308qv · Mar 29, 2013

So, does the software on the Infiniti disregard the drivers desires and defaults to Vettles inputs? Just saying.

TheMayor · Mar 29, 2013

"To Infiniti... And beyond!".

Fast_ian · Mar 29, 2013

TifosiUSA said: ↑

...Infiniti could blow all the diffusers in their entire lineup with that amount of hot air in that press release.
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Indeed.

However, they have made a substantial investment in putting their name on the thing. The marketing types then ask "how can we maximise the ROI from this?"

"Lets give our superstar driver a fancy title!"

FWIW, the "rule of thumb" used to be to double the actual sponsorship $ for PR and other BS. I suspect it's about the same today; Much more than the ~75-$100MM for the car.....

Their timing probably couldn't have been worse, but per the adage no publicity is bad publicity.

Now, whether they should have anointed an admitted cheater to said position is another question. [Just my opinion, I know others look at it differently, but to me he cheated his entire team.]

Cheers,
Ian

freshmeat · Mar 29, 2013

I guess if an engineer has a disagreement with Vettel's design direction he can just ignore him and apologize after the fact

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