Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan recently explained why Sebastian Vettel left the team for Ferrari at the end of the 2014 season. Monaghan believes that Vettel had gotten accustomed to winning titles with Red Bull and was not happy with the car he was provided with, in 2014.
Moreover, there were other concerns that came for Vettel that year. For the first time in F1, he lost to a teammate.
Daniel Ricciardo, who had just been drafted into the team and was in his very first year with them, comfortably outclassed his four-time world champion teammate. At the end of the season, Ricciardo finished third in the standings with a staggering 71-point advantage over Vettel.
Hence, Monaghan believes it was the team at fault for breaking Vettel‘s spirits, as the #5 driver had become accustomed to driving competitive machinery. However, because of Renault’s uncompetitive power unit in 2014, Red Bull paid the price. And with Red Bull no longer winning races, Vettel too found himself in an uncomfortable position.
Speaking about the same, Monaghan told Beyond the Grid host Tom Clarkson, “He lost his motivation with us a bit, didn’t he?” Monaghan then further added, “In 2014 we did not give him a car he could defend his world championship with. I think he lost his motivation.”
However, it was not just Red Bull that was struggling. Vettel too had been underperforming when compared to his teammate Ricciardo. Due to this context, Monaghan understood why Vettel chose to leave the team and embark on his journey with Ferrari.
Red Bull’s decline began with Mercedes’ redemption
While Renault failed to deliver a competitive engine during the turbo-hybrid era, Mercedes cracked the code successfully. As a result, the Silver Arrows dominated the sport for eight consecutive years between 2014 and 2021.
Vettel, on the other hand, made his move to Ferrari, but he never won a world championship. However, during Mercedes’ heyday, Vettel was the closest competitor to Lewis Hamilton. The German driver eventually retired at the end of the 2022 season after spending two seasons with Aston Martin.
