Why Sebastian Vettel will leave Ferrari with an F1 dream that has not been fulfilled?

Sebastian Vettel has been pushy during his five years at Ferrari. He had a “dream”. He had a “mission”. To win in red and end the drought of the most famous F1 team championship.

But the confirmation that Vettel and Ferrari will split in late 2020 means that this search and love story will likely end unfulfilled.

“It has been a frustrating experience for him,” said Martin Brundle of Sky F1.

There will be some who claim that her reputation, having teamed up as a young and seemingly unflappable winning machine with four titles, has been tarnished in the process, and her time with the Scuderia could be remembered for failed title offers, costly mistakes and being usurped by a new star.

But no one else has threatened to end Mercedes’ dominance in F1. And only two from the Ferrari pantheon of majors have won more races in red.

What is clear is that Vettel has had more ups and downs than any other driver since 2015.

2015 and 2016: Ferrari rebuild

Following in the footsteps of idol Michael Schumacher, Vettel said he had achieved a lifelong ambition when he left his four Red Bull titles for F1’s most tempting project,

“I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top,” said the German. “I will put my heart and soul into making it happen.”

But it should not be forgotten what Vettel was joining.

Ferrari came from one of the worst seasons in its history in 2014, finishing fourth and suffering its first winless season in more than 20 years. Such was the confidence in that team, Fernando Alonso jumped off the boat for a shot in the dark with McLaren-Honda, and we know how that ended.

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Sky F1’s Martin Brundle explains why Sebastian Vettel leaves Ferrari, and discusses his options, and those of the team, for 2021.

Vettel, however, had an immediate impact. A victory, Ferrari’s first since early 2013, would come in his second race, with Vettel dominating Malaysia ahead of rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Impressive victories in Hungary and Singapore would follow later in the season.

But just as it seemed that Ferrari was ready to challenge Mercedes by building around their new star, who scored nearly twice as many points as teammate Kimi Raikkonen in his debut season, they were thrown to the ground with a horrible 2016, ending again behind Red Bull with no wins.

Strategic mistakes and internal interruptions: The things that have affected Vettel for much of his time with Ferrari were in effect that season, and although Vettel led the team with seven podiums, it was clear how big a task he and the team had. . Store. All eyes were on the great rules of 2017 …

2017 and 2018: Vettel loses its winning touch

An innovative car revitalized the team, and Vettel, in early 2017. But although Vettel had an initial title lead and arguably was at its best in terms of wheel-to-wheel battles with Hamilton this season, it will still be remembered for the wrong reasons and ultimately a failure on his part.

That is due in part to Ferrari’s crash after the summer break, as the team failed to match Mercedes with pace and reliability, but also due to two major Vettel hotspots: breaking into Hamilton in Baku under Safety Car, described as “dangerous”, “disgusting” and “embarrassing” by the Mercedes driver, and a first lap crash with Raikkonen and Max Verstappen in Singapore.

However, there would still be hope for next year, given how well Vettel was performing on the track, optimism that it would have grown with consecutive victories to start 2018.

But again, as has been the case with Vettel at Ferrari, the good times were quickly followed by devastating lows.

He had all the momentum of the title after beating Hamilton in his Silverstone backyard, but then he went on to ruin his own career at home by exiting the lead in Germany.

“If you think of Hockenheim in 2018, I think that was the moment when the rot started,” Brundle noted.

He certainly would never bounce back in that particular title race from there, with notable twists as he fought wheel-to-wheel at Monza, Suzuka and Austin summing up his year and making it look, for the first time, like he couldn’t handle the Pressure.

Was this the end of Vettel at its peak?

2019: the beginning of the end

Ferrari brought in young Charles Leclerc in place of Raikkonen to challenge Vettel in 2019, but they still trusted their championship hopes in their four-time world champion, who insisted he was still their number one.

But that would change over the course of the season.

Another turn that cost the race earlier in the season in Bahrain certainly didn’t help, nor did the near-constant controversy with Leclerc when Ferrari struggled to handle the dynamics of an established star versus a pinch-hitter.

2019 would ultimately be infamous for Vettel, with three main moments:

• receive a penalty for losing the race in Canada after another mistake under pressure, and post-race antics
• turning unopposed at the Italian GP when young suitor Leclerc sealed a famous Ferrari victory
• Crashing into Leclerc in Brazil when the association finally exploded

Still, Vettel, who only showed his best form in flashes, was adamant about his future and his “mission.”

“It is the team where I want to win, where I want to be successful,” he told Sky F1, before insisting later that year:

“I am very hungry and I have a mission here to win.”

2020: time to say goodbye

You may have once again reaffirmed your desire to stay during an interview last month, but even then there were many questions about Vettel and his future Ferrari with his contract expiring in late 2020.

Would Ferrari offer you a long-term contract? Would Vettel be happy to accept a supporting role for Leclerc? And would the German see the point of staying in a team that did not appear to be in contention for the title, particularly with the next revision of the rules delayed until 2022?

“I think there are two elements to this,” Brundle said after confirmation of Vettel’s departure. “Sebastian had lost a little faith and confidence in the team that they could really change this. And then I think they fell in love with each other.”

“I imagine Sebastian wouldn’t be so concerned about being a clear number one, but he wouldn’t want to be a clear number two on the team and have to give in to Leclerc.”

Perhaps his impending departure is due to a combination of the above, while the desire for a new challenge cannot be ruled out or possibly withdrawn entirely.

An F1 purist who has been the sport’s credit, Vettel deserves to rise to the top if that’s the case, and he could still have one more chance to win a Ferrari title during, at best, an interrupted season. .

But except for the most unlikely ending, this will be a failed mission.