F1 End of Season Report: Rate the Grid - Sebastian Vettel

[Matthew327]

I would have given him a higher score than 8 had he not crumbled under pressure so many times. He threw his chances of a victory away in Baku, and he threw the title away in Singapore all because he made silly mistakes in the heat of battle.

Regardless of Ferrari's bad form in Asia, once the title was gone Vettel suddenly showed what he was capable of, and had he not made those two critical mistakes (Baku and Singapore) he might have taken the title fight to Abu Dhabi.

Let's hope that in 2018, he's in an equally competitive car and learns from his mistakes this year.

 

[el chasco]

A 7.

Until the F1 holidays, good results. But since the holidays return, a lot of errors they have made him lose the championship.

And like Hamilton, cracks under pressure.

And his behavior as a small child ... It makes him lose points.

So, I could put to him a 6, but I choosed a 7.

 

[Bjay_23]

is an arsehole.

threw title away.

Should've been banned for that baku stupidity.

You should get banned for writing comments here

 

[Sky]

 

[wombat999]

Fast but erratic, relied heavily on Team Orders and just SOL when it counted.
I still rated him an 8 but only just.

 

[Enagee]

Fast but erratic, relied heavily on Team Orders and just SOL when it counted.
I still rated him an 8 but only just.

ahhh forgot about team orders.....extra privilege for the No1 driver, wasn't much point as was faster than Kimi most times.

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

rated him a 7 despite being a vettel fanboy from day 1.
i admire his talent and he showed it multiple times this season, making this one of the best f1 championship battles in the past years, at least until half-time.
But the way he lost his temper from then on made me shook, and is way beyond the cry-baby attitude people see in him often. Hence the 7 what should have been a solid 9 if he just kept his cool and played it like a four-time WDC that he is.
That said, #nextyearisouryear

 

[Haiden773]

Last two season have dimmed my opinion of him. He needs to stop whining and start taking more responsibility for his own mistakes and errors. When it comes to race incidents, he seems to live in an alternate reality sometimes.

 

[paracletus]

Would have rated 8.1
Probably should have won DC, car was fastest in half the races.
Vetelle disgrace himself & F1 in baku; for this the point deducted. And caused a collision in far east.
7.1 / 10

 

[Maurits Vernel]

Not a perfect season for him. His errors (of judgment) in Singapore and Baku came at a very high cost. He is a very quick and talented driver, but his mental capabilities are his weak point. Nevertheless, without him, 2017 would've been a pushover for Hamilton and very boring.

8.

 

[KeisariKine]

I gave him a 6 just for the stupid stunt at Baku. Mexico was also stupid from him but not ban-worthy like Baku. Singapore was something he could have avoided, but the accident wasn't his fault (it was Kimi's fault really). Vettel drove well and had some great performances but just those few moments of stupidity cost him.

 

[Kjell Eilertsen]

Reached another level of low this season, crashing into people left right and center, even during safety car for good measure. I didn't think I could dislike him more but he proved me wrong! GG Vettel.
He's clearly fast, but doesn't matter if you can't behave on track...

 

[ears]

On the start line, at Singapore, the season looked pretty bleak for Lewis Hamilton.

He had a slender championship lead and was looking at a 5th place finish. There were several races upcoming where Ferrari and possibly Red Bull were expected to outperform the Mercedes.

How the season panned out, the turn of events, SV is not entirely responsible for. But he's not entirely blameless either.

But it's not fair that snap moments in time that are deemed to be pivotal are given more prominence than others.

For example, LH's qualifying crash in Brazil was almost dismissed as insignificant because the championship was already won, but it was a much bigger clanger than anything SV did at the Singapore start.

Baku was just bonkers and whatever it cost him, he can have no complaints.

 

[eatyoubrocookie]

Baku was just bonkers and whatever it cost him, he can have no complaints.

"Dangerous driving?? So tell me, when did i do dangerous driving?"
-SV, 2017-

 

[davewilliams000]

I've never been Vettel's biggest fan, but he put together a good 1st 1/2 of the season, capitalising when Mercedes didn't have a handle on their car. However for what he did in Baku for me, he should have got a tougher penalty, and he was totally stupid. You simply cannot loose your head at this level - F1 drivers, whether they like it or not are seen as role models for younger drivers and drivers in general. With the Jean Todt and the FIA's push for road safety campaign, they really should have made more of an example of him to show that nobody can get away with things like that - if anyone else had done it they would have got a race ban. Also add to the fact that he flat out denied he'd done anything wrong for some time afterwards (until the WMC hearing) made him even more unlikable than before. OK.. rant over with now!

Other than that he's been unlucky in the 2nd half of the season with reliability, coupled with Mercedes starting to understand their car better. The singapore incident on heinsight, as someone else said that move often would work, but he again should have evaluated that he had more to loose than everyone else. He could have gotten at least 18 points in that race, had he simply let Max go into T1 first (as Lewis gave in in Malaysia).

My only other comment is that, we know all F1 drivers moan over the radio, but he does the most, (with the exception of Grosean of course!), so still seems to act like a child. If he want's to win a championship against someone as good as Lewis (especially now he has matured a lot), he simply needs to grow up and learn to keep his head. Rated a 7.

 

[Ken Hunter]

Seb made mistakes yes, but so did everyone on the F1 scene at some stage or another. The only sad thing i observe here is, no one seems to remember his achievements in his racing career and NOT only with Ferrari.
He is undoubtedly a far better driver than Hamilton who has enjoyed a superior racing car for a very long time.
Hell, give the guy a break!!
He deserves better.

 

[Spocky]

He had a superior car for longer than Mercedes, and yet threw away what would have been an easy championship, in Canada, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Mexico and COTA.

 

[whaletail]

Seb made mistakes yes, but so did everyone on the F1 scene at some stage or another. The only sad thing i observe here is, no one seems to remember his achievements in his racing career and NOT only with Ferrari.
He is undoubtedly a far better driver than Hamilton who has enjoyed a superior racing car for a very long time.
Hell, give the guy a break!!
He deserves better.

Although he is clearly not an undoubtedly better driver than Hamilton (according to Mark Hughes at Motorsport, the vast majority of team principals believe Lewis to be the fastest on the grid, but we'll likely never see them race in the same car), Seb is obviously an excellent driver, and I give him an 8 for 2017.

Generally very quick, and a championship contender for much of the season, with subpar performances at Baku and Singapore.