In his 6 seasons spent with Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel was unable to secure their first Driver’s Championship title since 2007. Being a former World Champion, the hopes were high on Vettel delivering the team’s intimate prize.
The team’s development was not on par with Mercedes who were far ahead of the rest of the grid. And they were riddled with a poor strategy which has been a recurring issue for the Italian team.
So much so, that there are rumours that Ferrari Chairman John Elkann plans to sack Team principal Mattia Binotto at the end of the 2022 season. The frustration of the drivers and lack of success are major contributors to it.
Vettel has experienced the work culture and lows during his time with Ferrari. But 53 Grand Prix winning driver refrained from sharing his opinion despite knowing the flaws within the team.
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No comments on Ferrari’s struggle
Sebastian Vettel came agonisingly close in 2017 and 2018. But he was beaten by Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes who dominated the Turbo Hybrid era in F1.
However, Ferrari’s blunders and lack of race-winning strategies have cost them dearly. This was visible in 2022, where despite a strong start to the season and a faster car, Ferrari lost out both titles to Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
Vettel too was a victim of the error-prone Ferrari strategy. But the retiring German wishes to not comment on his former team’s issues this season.
Vettel said, “I have ideas about what could be changed at Ferrari but I’ll keep them to myself. What you see from the outside is only an interpretation of what is going on. You don’t have the whole picture.”
Ferrari is the most popular name on the grid. And with a strong Tifosi base in Italy, their performances are always closely watched by everyone. And Vettel believes the added pressure places a part in their performances.
He added, “Mistakes can happen to anyone. But we pay a lot of attention to Ferrari’s mistakes because an entire country is behind them. This does not happen anywhere else. So maybe too much attention generates too much pressure.”
Sebastian Vettel has no regrets from his time with Ferrari
Despite the lack of titles, Sebastian Vettel has no regrets about his time at Maranello. The 4-time World Champion claimed 14 race wins in 117 race starts with Ferrari.
“I loved those years in Italy where I made a lot of friends. Racing for Ferrari is something special. On the street, people consider you as one of them.”
The one moment that stings the German was his crash in 2018 at Hockenheim. Vettel beached his car n the gravel while Lewis Hamilton stole the race win and championship lead.
He added, “It hurt me a lot because it happened in Germany in front of my home crowd on a track I love and it cost me a lot. But Mercedes was too strong in development. At Ferrari, we were too far away from them.”
Still, Vettel’s legacy in F1 speaks for itself. And even after he retires from F1 at the end of 2022, he would be known for what a serial winner he was.
Also Read: Sebastian Vettel is happier now than he was in Ferrari and Red Bull
