The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over from Bridgestone, marking their return to Formula One for the first time since the 1991 season. Red Bull Racing was the reigning Constructors' Champion. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel was the defending Drivers' Champion, one of five World Champions appearing on the grid. Vettel won his second World Championship at the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver, at 24 years and 98 days, to do so. Red Bull Racing won the Constructors' Championship.
McLaren's Jenson Button came in second behind Vettel by a then record gap of 122 points.
Mark Webber, Vettel's teammate, finished third in the championship for the second season in succession.
The season started with controversy when two teams using the Lotus name were entered onto the grid, Lotus Renault GP (foreground) and Team Lotus (background).
Sebastian Vettel
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Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One history and has won four World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull. Vettel holds the record for being the youngest World Champion in Formula One, has the fourth-most race victories (53), third-most podium finishes (122), and fourth-most pole positions (57).
Vettel driving at a F3 Euroseries demonstration event in 2006
Vettel on his race debut at the 2007 United States Grand Prix
Vettel driving for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix