Why is Vettel Looking Out of Sorts at Ferrari?

(Sebastian Vettel
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Sebastian Vettel’s final season at Ferrari is going from one disappointment to another. The four-time world champion has struggled throughout the season so far. He has managed to score only 10 points from five races and sits 13th in the Drivers' Championship.

In the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, the strategy that Ferrari opted for Vettel made no sense at all. After starting the race on hard tyres, He could have easily stayed out there for a significant amount of laps. It would have helped him stay out of traffic and gain positions to get among points. But the team called him for an early pit stop against Vettel’s will. By doing this, Ferrari shot themselves on their foot with Vettel finishing at P12. Vettel’s outburst during the race was heard on the radio, letting the team know of its costly mistake. Vettel also did not do any good for him with a lap one spin, but Ferrari’s decision of that meaningless pit stop is what truly hurt him the most.

Recently Vettel said he is stumped as to why his performances have slipped away recently, adding that he is out of answers. Its been a miserable two weekends for him at Silverstone, having a nightmare weekend at last weeks British Grand Prix. He had numerous problems throughout practice last weekend, qualifying in 10th place before making no progress in the race. This weekends event was nothing better in any ways for him. He had an engine failure late in FP2 forcing a change of power unit for Saturday. But things did not improve as he could not even make it through to Q3. After the qualifying, he went on to say that he had tried everything and that was the most he could get out of that car. 

(Charles Leclerc celebrating his P3 finish in the British GP
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

In contrast, his teammate Charles Leclerc produced considerable results with two podium finishes and a P4 in at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. He has been able to outperform the SF1000 beyond its capabilities. Let's have a look at how Ferrari has unleashed Leclerc and has made Vettel’s life harder at the same time.

Ferrari had expected a difficult weekend Silverstone event given its fear to generate pace in the car on a power-sensitive circuit. Based on the performance in the opening rounds Ferrari’s car would not have the cornering speed to compensate. So they worked on optimising a lower downforce aerodynamic package. After a mixed Friday, qualifying looked promising so gaining track position seemed achievable. Ferrari reckoned that this low downforce package was worth a couple of attempts at Silverstone and ultimately it proved crucial. It allowed Leclerc to get into Q2 using only medium tyres. It was a surprisingly great result for Leclerc in both the races at Silverstone. He described that the Ferrari car was actually very nice to drive. Admittedly, it would not have been the case if not for the low downforce package instalment before the weekend.

(Sebastian Vettel
Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

So what has changed for Vettel? Why has he gone from fighting for race wins last season to struggling to get into Q3 in qualifying? It was a disappointing performance by Vettel on both the weekends at Silverstone. Everything that could go wrong did apart from him retiring from the race. With an aggressive low downforce package to learn, Vettel was significantly underprepared in the practice sessions last weekend due to issues with his car which at one point had him stranded on the side of the track. It proved true when Vettel had to go on with soft tyres to get into Q3 and finish P10 in qualifying last weekend. He said he was struggling massively for grip and his confidence level is quite low because every time I try to push I lose the car. After yet another dismal performance on the same track this weekend, on asked about whether he felt there was any difference compared to Leclerc's car amid his ongoing struggle, Vettel replied: "I don't know. I guess something is there that I'm missing, I'm not sure what it is, but nevertheless, I try and get out of bed and do the best that I can.”

Whatever the problem, Ferrari and Vettel need to find a solution for it at the earliest. The four-time world champion is going to part ways with Ferrari at the end of the season, but their final year together has already turned out to be a pretty bad one. The ongoing friction between Vettel and the Ferrari team has started to raise questions about whether the German driver will see out the season with them.

Vettel has yet to announce his plans for 2021. There are increasing rumours of his links with Aston Martin Racing for Sergio Perez’s seat next season. But looking at his current form, will it be feasible for new employers to bank on him? Only time will tell.