Sebastian Vettel fading star dailycarblog.com
Is Sebastian Vettel Becoming The Fading Star of Formula One
Formula One

It’s difficult to say if Vettel is a fading star. If we use the 2019 season as evidence, thus far Sebastian Vettel has appeared to be a shadow of the Sebastian Vettel of previous campaigns. Part of that is to do with the SF90. It appears that the 2019 car struggles to generate enough heat into the tyres. As such Vettel has struggled to generate the confidence required to extract maximum performance relative to his Mercedes rivals. On the other hand, Vettel’s teammate, Charles Leclerc, could have been on pole in Monaco had Ferrari not screwed up during qualifying. So what is happening?

In Formula One, it is not uncommon for one driver to be better suited to a chassis than the other. Different driving styles and levels of sensitivity can become a disruptive factor. Vettel clearly doesn’t have the confidence to push the Ferrari SF90 and has never looked in contention for a race victory.

Contrast that to Charles Leclerc who could have won in Bahrain, and has simply been faster on more than just a mere one occasion. It is clear to see Vettel is struggling to adjust his driving style to the SF90’s characteristics.

Ferrari has always been a one driver team, to that end they are planning to make fundamental changes to the SF90. One presumes doing so will help Vettel but will it be at the expense of Charles Leclerc?

Laurent Mekies, Scuderia Ferrari Sporting Director recently said “We are behind everywhere in absolute performance. We need to improve on certain types of corners and the way that our aero works with the mechanical grip and the tyres,”

Leclerc fading star, dailycarblog.com

Leclerc is fast and hungry for that first win. But the power brokers at Ferrari may not want that to happen. Just yet. Vettel is the focus, and Ferrari pays him many, many millions for many, many reasons.

But is Vettel’s time at the top beginning to fade? Not just yet.

During a recent interview, former F1 and Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger has a different take, of Ferrari’s and Vettel’s current situation, he observes:

“Seb is a hard worker, as Schumacher was. But compared to Schumacher, he lacks the ability to lead the team and demand the commitment of key figures. And now he is 100 percent focused on proving he is still the number 1.”

“Vettel needs a relaxed atmosphere and to feel at home,” he said. “At the moment he is suffering and cannot give 110 percent.”

So in other words, Vettel needs to be mentally tough and as Berger pointed out, Ferrari (and presumably Vettel) need to cut out the “stupid mistakes”. The star is not fading just yet, it has dimmed. To shine brighter it needs to be reborn.


Sebastian Vettel fading star dailycarblog.com
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