F1: will Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel quit after the 2020 season?
German questions F1’s future as pressure builds on the four-time champion
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel could walk away from Formula 1 when his Ferrari contract expires at the end of the 2020 season.
The German won his world titles with Red Bull but he is yet to secure a championship with Ferrari since joining the Scuderia in 2015. He finished runner-up to Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton in 2017 and 2018.
This season has seen the 31-year-old start the campaign with a fourth-placed finish in Australia and a fifth-placed finish in Bahrain. He is currently fifth in the drivers’ standings with 22 points - 22 behind leader Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
‘More a show and a business than a sport’
In an interview with The Times Vettel said that he is not committing to F1 beyond the 2020 season as there is uncertainty regarding regulations and rules.
Vettel said: “I’m certain I really want to drive this year and next year, then I don’t know what happens to the regulations. Nobody knows so far. I certainly can’t sit here and say, ‘No [I won’t leave]’ just for the sake of being in Formula 1.
“A lot of the values that used to be around, they are only partly around. Formula 1 is now more a show and a business than a sport.
“You can say the same probably for other sports, but maybe in other sports it doesn’t filter down as much to the actual athlete as much as it does here.
“There just needs to be [a decision about] what we want. If we say we are a show, then bring on the show. I feel we are wasting so much time and energy with regulations that are just expensive really for nothing.”
‘No room for Vettel’
With Kimi Raikkonen leaving Ferrari for Alfa Romeo Racing, Vettel is this season partnered by youngster Charles Leclerc.
The 21-year-old impressed at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix and only missed on the victory because of an engine power failure. Vettel, meanwhile, span his car and missed out on the podium.
Leclerc has been tagged as Ferrari’s new “golden boy”, Fox Sports reports, and the emergence of Mick Schumacher in the Ferrari Driver Academy has also put extra pressure on Vettel from the Italian media.
Italian sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport said: “Ferrari looks to a future in which there is no room for Vettel. Mick Schumacher could soon be at the side of the talented Charles Leclerc.”
La Repubblica added that Vettel had lost “his front wing, and his nerve” in the title battle with Hamilton and said that Leclerc is the “true rival” of the Mercedes ace.
La Gazzetta dello Sport said the Prancing Horse will return to their Maranello base with “one certainty and two problems”. The paper added: “The certainty is Charles Leclerc, and the two problems are reliability and Sebastian Vettel.”
La Stampa advised Vettel to “get a mental coach and shave the moustache”.
Ferrari back Seb as their No.1
Despite his mistake in Bahrain The Times reports that Ferrari have “thrown their support” behind Vettel.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said: “It was a mistake and I don’t think we should discuss about mistakes. We are always in the battle and in the fight, that is what we are doing and it is never easy.
“I think at the end it is something that can always happen. I think we need to encourage our drivers because it is only by driving to the limit that they achieve the best result and that is what Seb was trying to do.
“There is some homework on the balance to improve, we are still learning about our car. So I think all good in that respect and we will keep focus on that and hope to improve.”
Hamilton defends rival
Another person to defend Vettel is his long-time title rival Hamilton. Quoted by the Daily Express, British driver Hamilton said: “Just because you’re a multiple world champion doesn’t mean you’re not going to have off weekends.
“It’s more cumulative. You look at Vettel’s career, and he’s had stunning performances that more than outweigh the weaker races or when he’s spun for example.
“They’re minuscule on the status that he’s accumulated and created. There are always times you happen to just not get the right car setup - which you guys don’t get to see all these little things we’re doing - and it just doesn’t happen to work that weekend and the differences are so small yet they look so big.”
2019 standings and next F1 GP
Mercedes driver Bottas leads the F1 2019 drivers’ championship on 44 points after two races, one ahead of team-mate Hamilton.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is third in the standings on 27 points while Ferrari duo Leclerc and Vettel have 26 and 22 points respectively.
In the F1 2019 constructors’ championship Mercedes lead the way with 87 points. They are 39 points ahead of second-placed Ferrari who are on 48. Red Bull are third with 31 points.
When is the next race?
The third race of the 2019 F1 season will be the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday 14 April at the Shanghai International Circuit.
China marks a huge milestone for Formula 1 as it will be the sport’s 1,000th world championship race.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How safe are cruise ships in storms?
The Explainer The vessels are always prepared
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
What message is Trump sending with his Cabinet picks?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION By nominating high-profile loyalists like Matt Gaetz and RFK Jr., is Trump serious about creating a functioning Cabinet, or does he have a different plan in mind?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Christian Horner and the Red Bull saga that refuses to go away
Why everyone's talking about 'Too dizzy-making' even for the 'merry-go-round world of F1'
By The Week UK Published
-
Max Verstappen: F1’s record-breaking world champion
Why Everyone’s Talking About Red Bull star has surpassed records set by Schumacher, Vettel and Hamilton
By Mike Starling Published
-
F1 ‘silly season’ hits top speed as 2023 grid takes shape
Under the Radar Twitter explodes with news of driver moves, denials and rumours
By Mike Starling Published
-
Lewis Hamilton on his F1 future: ‘I have plenty of fuel in the tank’
Under the Radar Seven-time world champion finished second on his 300th grand prix start
By Mike Starling Published
-
F1: a bumpy start to the season for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell
Under the Radar Only four races in and Mercedes already look off the pace
By The Week Staff Published
-
F1 Bahrain GP reactions: Ferrari ‘back with a bang’ as Leclerc ‘tames the beast’
feature The Tifosi celebrate a stunning one-two for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz
By Mike Starling Published
-
F1 2022 season guide: race calendar, championship standings and 2023 grid
feature Max Verstappen has now won 14 of this season’s 20 grands prix
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Lewis Hamilton’s future: could he retire from F1?
Why Everyone’s Talking About It remains ‘unclear’ if the seven-time world champion will be on the grid in 2022
By Mike Starling Published