Is Vettel Done For?

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He seems to have lost competitiveness, but will he see brighter days in the near future?


The situation for the German driver does not look particularly good as we approach the end of the season. It is undeniable that he is still one of the fastest around in the Circus, and in the last ten years, he has gained the necessary experience and maturity to improve his race craft and race strategy thinking. The Vettel we look at now surely is vastly different from the one we were looking at in his early days of Formula 1. He has amassed such a number of races, podiums, wins (not to count World Titles), so much so that whenever the end of his career will be, he has surely earned a place in the records and will be forever counted among the greatest in the sport.

However, it is also true that he still seems to suffer from that emotional side of his character that has always been one of his marking traits. Vettel has struggled all the time to keep his sentiments at bay, and has made plenty of mistakes throughout his history that were easily avoidable if only he maintained a stronger focus on the present and, sometimes, on the big picture too.

Think of Turkey 2010, Canada 2011, Brazil 2012, Germany 2018, and his unnecessary scrambles with Webber, the confrontation with Ricciardo, ended with him changing colours for Ferrari. Everything seemed to be fine again with Räikkönen, who was indeed the perfect wingman, but now, when teamed with the younger talent Leclerc, which has indeed started to shine, his star seems to have dimmed instead.

Ferrari cannot afford to have such a prestigious driver delivering so little on one of their cars, and the Italian press is already putting enough pressure on the German driver. His contract with the Prancing Horse will be over at the end of the 2020 season. What will happen next?

Some say that a return in Red Bull might be a viable option. Is it? Returning to Red Bull means get teamed up with Verstappen, an even more difficult presence than the one he had to confront himself with in his older days, with the then young talent Ricciardo. Would someone like Vettel accept to become a mere wingman and tester, like Räikkönen at Alfa Romeo? Some other say that Mercedes would be on the lookout, but would a centralizing figure like that of Hamilton, who is known to suffer from psychological pressure when put in competition with his teammates, serenely accept to have him on board?

For sure, it is sad to see Vettel coming to this point. He himself seems disappointed and disenthralled, and while some of his ‘bold’ outings of his early career days still resonates, it is true that he has grown so much as a person, deserving sympathy and admiration. In a way, he seems down the same path Alonso was not long ago. They both not deserve that. Let us hope things will shift soon for the four times world champion.

What do you think? Is Vettel still a competitor for the future editions of the F1 drivers’ championship? Will he move from Ferrari? Where to? Will his career be over at the end of next season instead? Let us know, in the comment section below!

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Don't stop shooting the ambulance, it's still running.

Btw "Hamilton, who is known to suffer from psychological pressure when put in competition with his teammates" is a rather funny for someone who has been teamed with world champions during all his career except for the last couple of seasons.
 
Btw "Hamilton, who is known to suffer from psychological pressure when put in competition with his teammates" is a rather funny for someone who has been teamed with world champions during all his career except for the last couple of seasons.

Rosberg has been world champion only in his final season. Anyway, it is typical Hamilton for him to be bold and arrogant when winning, and cryful and complaining when losing or in a difficult situation. He makes a lot of mistakes when pressured by a strong teammate.
 
He could has won two or three races this year as Leclerc did. Same way, Leclerc also destroyed a number of weekends this season exclusively by his silly mistakes. So, no big deal. What Vettel needs in his career is a Ferrari car capable to win in every track as Mercedes guys have.

Motorsport is complicated and simple at same time. The current Ferrari model is not up to win a championship whoever is driving.
 
Rosberg has been world champion only in his final season. Anyway, it is typical Hamilton for him to be bold and arrogant when winning, and cryful and complaining when losing or in a difficult situation. He makes a lot of mistakes when pressured by a strong teammate.

I'll agree that Hamilton can be "bold and arrogant", and "cryful and complaining", but he usually gets the better of a strong teammate like he did with Alonso, and with Rosberg. Love him or hate him, there is no denying that he is probably the best driver of his generation.

As for Vettel, he seems to me to be less motivated about F1 these days. I wouldn't be surprised to see him walk away in the near future.
 
Majority vote for contract renewal! Surprising. Remember when he was outperformed by Danni Ric on Red Bull? I don't get why Ferrari didn't go for him back them. Maybe they did, we didn't hear anything. Anyway, over the span of the last year he make many, many mistakes including unforced errors. Many of his misfortunes came from losing his racing foresight where he got into situations when racing others that ended with him getting a penalty. I think he's done. It's unfortunate but it happens to everyone. He's among the funny guys on the grid so losing him would be a loss but it is how it is.
 
I don't write him off yet, although I don't think that he'll win another WDC anymore. Leclerc is one hell of a teammate to deal with.
 
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He'll be fine. He just needs to get his grove back as they say. Vettle is still very talented and still young. IMO, I just think he needs to get out of Ferrari. It's just not his style. It's no different to my other favorite sport; Baseball. Some Star players in Baseball can't handle the pressures of the big cities and playing for top teams like the New York Yankees (a good comparison to Formula 1's Ferrari of big teams of WIN NOW! for example.

It's similar to what Vettle is going through an excellent F1 driver but the very high pressures of a we need results now or else....
 
I think non-racers tend to be extremely critical of these guys...all of them.
On any given Sunday, these guys are out there pushing a car to it's extremes.
This isn't 'Drivin' Miss Daisy'...mistakes can and will happen..
Almost any driver can have a rocky spell.
He isn't the first...he won't be the last.
We've all watched him evolve from a young boy, to a man with a wife and kids...beyond that, we know little.
I think we have to stop 'beating' these guys up every time they make a mistake.
We couldn't do better in most cases.
 
I think he will stay, he is certain name and that brings money to the team
They have new potential champion in LeClerk, so they don't need another one

I'm pretty sure they will renew his contract

yes he has been doing quite a few mistakes lately, but I think he just needs to get back into the zone
 
I have no sympathy for him.. sooner he's gone the better...

Can't wait to see what happens the next few years with the new generation of drivers... i feel like we're heading into a golden era of F1... Can't wait til young George gets a good seat and McLaren close that gap.. will be amazing!
 
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He's far from done. Rewind back to '10 and put today's Sebastian in that same situation, he either rattles off another 4 WDC in a row or comes damned close (like 3 out of 4, 2 minimum if he has bad luck).

My skepticism comes in when Ferrari enters the question. What is that relationship really like right now? I don't think any of us can really know. I'm not sure I would be willing to bet a lot of money he'll still be with Ferrari long.
 

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