Is Vettel Done For?

[Enagee]

All drivers spins, don't think it's the car or it not suiting his style. Vettel had a few spins this year though .... Replay one mo time!

All he needs is a few wins and the headlines will change.

Funny how Hamiltons name is used to make a thread exciting... All drivers cry and moan on the radio.. Not all win championships.

Vettel is just going through a bad patch and a bit too early to come to a conclusion.

 

[Davide Nativo]

Not all win championships (because they currently have the combination of the best car (by getting the FIA to change the engine rules ad hoc) and pit wall in F1, with the helping hand of Pirelli for tyre wear (look up Mercedes secret tyre test), and by so vastly superior meanings of winning)

There you go, fixed for you. No need to thank me

 

[tr1v1um]

I honestly dont think ive seen a driver spin as often as Vettel in the last two years since... Well... I cant even think of one.

And: Vettel is a four times champion. Leclerc is nearly a rookie.

I don't say that Vettel made no mistakes nor that he is faultless. The question is what results he gets from his performance. Right now both Ferrari drivers are something like 20 points apart with Leclerc relying on the good will of Vettel quite significantly to get where he was in the last two races. So there is still a long way to go and nobody knows how the table will look like after the last race. Also please stop calling Leclerc a rooky. That guy has spent the most part of his life behind a wheel against some top tier competition. Anyway, Ferrari has far more urgent problems to solve than to clash their drivers against each other or to question Vettel at this point.

 

[GTR233]

The last f1 season I really liked was the duel Rosberg-Hamilton with fight on the track and in tv interviews : quite as interesting as legendary duel Senna-Prost
So I would like to see Vettel with Hamilton as teammate : would be rock'n'roll

 

[NewOne0]

I think he tried too hard to be a second "Michael Schumacher". His time with Red Bull was super successful and he ended up with his head in the clouds. And with Mercedes' rise to the same dominance Vettel himself enjoyed with Red Bull, the huge amount of tactical mistakes and now the pressure of a young & talented teammate like Leclerc, he maybe realizes that his 'dream' with Ferrari will never come true.

Vettel is still one of the best drivers of recent history and it would be a waste of talent for him to retire. If I were in his position, I'd move to a different team. Question is, who would take him? Mercedes won't, Red Bull won't either after the way they parted & with Verstappen and Albon, they already have a solid team. Renault? Williams? Idk.

 

[Fat-Alfie]

I think an awful lot of Vettel's "Ferrari" spins have been very similar, a real snap of the back end almost without warning. I do wonder if this is simply the character of the Ferrari car at the limit (and usually clipping a kerb), and the more he pushes the more he is likely to lose the car in this manner.

Maybe Leclerc hasn't lost it as noticeably because he has been finding his feet up until now, not really pushing 100%. I wonder if the car is quite safe at 98% but once you push 100% you are walking a tight-rope.

I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more spins by Charles as he gains confidence and starts to find the (sudden) limit of the Ferrari. Of course, I am probably wrong, but I just think Vettel is a better driver than his spins lead us to believe.

(Hamilton fan, btw)

 

[Turk]

The problem for Vettel is he went straight to the top and now everyone judges him as a champion. Any other driver on the grid bar Hamilton would be delighted to have his results. Even with his mistakes he's still second in the championship.

It would be utterly foolish of Ferrari to replace him, he's got the fame and skill to win, I don't know are the mistakes just unfortunate or is it his error but either way it's still worth investing in Vettel and trying to fix the errors.

 

[Davide Nativo]

(Hamilton fan, btw)

everyone has his limits

kidding, I love you mate

 

[Andrew Harper]

A lot of of it is personal feel with the car. I honestly don't think that Seb likes this years car (and the 2019 Pirelli rubber) and LeClerc has just got a better handle on the way it drives.

Make no mistake the Ferrari is still nowhere near as good as the Mercedes. If either Lewis or Bottas had got ahead of LeClerc at Monza or Spa I think they would have pulled away. Maybe not on top speed but their car is still much better on overall handling and tyre performance. I also think the Red Bull is a better chassis but still just a bit behind on overall performance.

Odd comparison I know but the last two races reminded me of the situation in reverse touring car grids, the top three teams are pretty evenly matched, if the guy up front can hang on they can get a win. It's just a question of getting the car into that position and that's what LeClerc has brilliantly managed to do.

I noticed that Seb was super excited for the 2019 season during early testing and then Mercedes rolled out their "B" car and then tore up the timing sheets. You could visually see in Seb's body language that he knew things were going to be tough again and I just got the impression his head dropped a little, which is understandable after what seemed such a good start to 2019.

However I do agree that his head is not where it needs to be at the moment. The rejoining of the track at Monza was frankly crazy, and he is over driving at times for sure, again I think his driving style doesn't match well with the 2019 rubber.

Time to move on? I don't think so. He can certainly still deliver the goods. Also as I'm a 44 year old, I don't want a field of pimply 19 year old's on the grid, I want a variety of drivers in F1. From exciting new drivers to drivers in their 30's (or even 40's). That's why I enjoy sports car racing. You have variety in cars but also variety in drivers. Each to their own though

 

[BrainsBush]

One week ago Vettel was asked if he would drive in a Ferrari F1 on Zandvoort next year during the F1 2020 GrandPrix. His answer was without any doubt: "YES, absolutely no worries ".*
And we know Vettel that he does not lie to ZiggoSport Dutchies Olav & Jack otherwise he has a problem on our beaches where he always gets his ice creams.

* well kind of .Vettel began about Zandvoort GP and his Dutch pole over there.

For those who missed it. See this funny Q&A with Max and Vettel. Around 4:00 the answer about this topic

 

[Enagee]

everyone has his limits

kidding, I love you mate

Troll patrol

 

[NDG]

Vettel spinning is not entirely new, I mean entirely! I see that video only covering Ferrari spins. He's been doing that even at Red Bull. How many races he's supposed to win and lost because of that, during his time with Red Bull. Ferrari knew that before they signed him. As far as I can tell, he's been consistent. VERY

 

[RasmusP]

Vettel should give the diff coast and rear wing a click more
I don't really get all the hate against Vettel. It's just a bad combination of when he screws up, what his teammates do at that time and how the car's paces look compared to each other on the grid.

When looking at raw performance, he's still up there. His mistakes look silly though..
Leclerc's biggest mistakes: hitting the wall in Baku, hitting the wall in Monaco, sliding away on the dumb drag strip in Germany.
These are all things that aren't really considered as silly mistakes and bad driving skill like losing the car into Ascari at the home grand prix.

But let's not forget that he had the pace in Canada, showed Leclerc how to do manage tyres in Hungary and overall definitely still having the pace.
He might have got pole in monza if not for the silly Q3 and he also drove the same lap times in monza after his spin.

So I'd say Vettel only needs some mental training and stop spinning in dry conditions.

I find Bottas a lot more disappointing this season. Great start and can out-qualify Hamilton but he drops behind in basically every damn race!
I think he could've overtaken leclerc at monza but he screwed up twice.
Into the first chicane and at the apex of Ascari.

I like them both though. Nice chaps and just a bit sad to see that they aren't able to nail it right now...

 

[Stepy]

Just proves that even though he's a talented driver he can't win races without being in the dominant car like he was with RB, I doubt he will win another championship.

Drivers of the modern era can only win the title if their in a dominant car (Hamilton, Rosberg), the only driver i know who won a championship while not having the BEST car was Michael Schumacher in 00, 01, 03

 

[RockettSally]

Vettel seems to have just given up after the incident on the Canadian Gran Prix, that's why.

 

[protonv5]

Wow. What a hate-bating piece. Thanks RD.
How about another article entitled: "Is Kunos Done For?"

 

[Turk]

Drivers of the modern era can only win the title if their in a dominant car (Hamilton, Rosberg), the only driver i know who won a championship while not having the BEST car was Michael Schumacher in 00, 01, 03

I think in general that's always been the case. Every race car driver is a trained professional these days, in the real beginning before they had figured out how to drive fast one guy could develop the skills that others wouldn't have, but those days are gone, now everyone is at a much more level playing field and the car shines through.

If people want to see driver skill only they can watch go kart racing. Pretty much every other series comes with a car advantage.

 

[aantonioo]

When was that pic taken? He looks a lot younger there than since he's been with Ferrari.

2015, just google the team polo shirt

 

[Tom Blackett]

His head has gone.... Heart not in it anymore.

 

[Deleted member 241736]

Ferrari needs to build a car suiting his driving style, or he goes to GT racing with his brother Fabian. I would love to see both driving in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

take care GT racing (love it much) isn‘t comparable with F1