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Pperhaps Michael Schumacher made it sound too easy. After the great German folded Ferrari to his will and returned six consecutive world championships to Scuderia, the shadow of that success loomed over Maranello. In the past decade, two of the best drivers of his generation have tried to return those glory days, both have failed. Once again, high expectations have been on the way. Sebastian Vettel leaves in hopes of emulating his childhood hero Schumacher, frustrated that both the team and the pilot were unable to deliver.
Vettel joined Ferrari in 2015, taking over after double world champion Fernando Alonso had spent five years trying to return Ferrari’s first title since 2007. He was disappointed and disappointed. The arrival of Vettel, as a four-time champion, was supposed to herald a new dawn. Initially they seemed to be heading in the right direction.
Perhaps most revealing has been the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. In a close fight with Lewis Hamilton, Vettel faced his rival behind the safety car, a moment of anger because he believed that Hamilton had tested it with the brakes. It was a crack in the cool and cheerful driver’s facade of public perception. Nor was it the last time such weaknesses were exhibited.
Vettel made an offline error in Singapore, forcing him to abandon the race and Ferrari aggravated him with technical problems in Malaysia and Japan. Hamilton ran home with the title.
In 2018, Ferrari had the fastest car on the grid but was unable to convert. Eight points ahead of Hamilton after 10 races, Vettel’s home GP in Germany was a calamity. Driving comfortably, an unforced error sent him to the barriers and out of the race.
The worst would follow. He hit Hamilton and spun at Monza, crashed into Max Verstappen at Suzuka after a team error cost him qualification and hit Daniel Ricciardo and spun at Austin. Ferrari’s best shot in years was tattered. Hamilton returned home with the title again.
Last season, the team dynamics became more complex. Until now, Vettel had enjoyed No. 1 status and superiority over teammate Kimi Raikkonen. With the arrival of Charles Leclerc’s charging talent, Vettel maintained the No. 1 status, but Leclerc was clearly too good to take a seat.
A family pattern emerged. Vettel stretches as he fights Hamilton in Bahrain. The British driver pressured him to make a mistake in Canada that cost Vettel the victory. Vettel hit Verstappen at Silverstone and when Leclerc claimed Ferrari’s first home win at Monza since 2010, Vettel succumbed to another unforced error and turned around.
Leclerc was still properly playing the good teammate, but there was an obvious tension about the team’s orders in Singapore and Russia. Then they faced each other in Brazil, forcing both of them to leave the race. Hamilton, of course, had already returned home with the title.
Leclerc’s success, however, was impossible to ignore. The young Monégasque beat Vettel across the board in 2019, Ferrari quickly extended his contract, and his team principal Mattia Binotto announced that there would be no # 1 driver in 2020, a one-time statement and one impossible for Vettel to ignore.
Vettel has insisted that the money did not motivate his decision, which is entirely credible. He now has three children and has made no secret of how much he enjoys his private family life, the consideration of which will surely have sharpened during F1’s forced absence.
Last year, former driver Johnny Herbert, who raced alongside Schumacher at Benetton in 1995, felt the mistakes were indicative that a driver was fighting with his team.
“Sebastian still has to carry Ferrari on his shoulders,” he said. “The pressure from Italy, from the team, from the media. That massive weight has not allowed him to breathe. Ferrari doesn’t have that right balance. “
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With Leclerc, Ferrari’s apparent heir, perhaps that weight was beginning to feel like Sisyphean rock. “To obtain the best possible results in this sport, it is vital that all parties work in perfect harmony,” Vettel said at the end of his contract.
A somewhat damning verdict on where he and Ferrari ended, the curtain fell on a performance in which they both failed to hit the high notes.
