Why Vettel's crash is not a stand-alone incident, but a recurring problem

Sebastian Vettel drove himself into the back of Esteban Ocon at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday and then complained about the other driver. Remarkable for a four-time world champion, but not if we dive into Vettel's history.

Sebastian Vettel has been under a lot of pressure in recent years and doesn't always seem to be able to deal with that. At Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing he was the hero and eventually won four world titles, but at Ferrari he never managed to do that again. Remarkable, for someone who seemed so dominant between 2010-2013.

At Aston Martin Vettel hopes to find his love for racing again, but it didn't go smoothly in Bahrain. He qualified on P18, had to start from the back due to a penalty and crashed into Ocon during the race. Vettel complained about Ocon on the radio, but it was really his fault. Even after the race Vettel didn't want to acknowledge this.

It is remarkable that a four-time world champion makes a mistake that fits a 'Rookie', but it is even more remarkable that this has happened to the German before. If we delve into the history books for a moment, we don't even have to go back far for it. At the 2019 British Grand Prix, Vettel crashed into Max Verstappen.

Where this may seem like a random similarity, it is not. Consider, for example, the unique moment in Azerbaijan, where Vettel went into the back of Lewis Hamilton in 2017 during the Safety Car. In fact, Vettel was so convinced he was right here that he went to drive next to Hamilton and gave him another tap from the side.

Who thinks this only happened to him in his lesser years, is wrong. Consider, for example, the moment when Vettel knocked Jenson Button out of the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix, thus denying him the chance to go to the podium. That year, Vettel was also labelled the 'Crash Kid'. Very fast, but also very often involved in crashes.

And the latter is indeed something else which strikes Vettel. Not only has he crashed several times during his career with someone driving in front of him, but in recent years Vettel's spins and crashes cannot be counted on one hand. The control and confidence are gone in the Formula 1 car, in addition to his always mediocre performance under pressure.

In recent years, you can think of the Japan 2018 crash with Verstappen, the crash with Verstappen and Raikkonen in Singapore in 2017, the spin at the Italian Grand Prix in 2019 and his famous crash in Germany in 2018. But even in his prime years, Vettel was often at fault. Consider, for example, the crash with his teammate in Turkey in 2010 and his crash in Japan with Mark Webber.

The crash with Ocon last Sunday was certainly not a stand-alone incident. Vettel often makes mistakes in wheel-to-wheel fights and has also been behind someone during the race. According to Gerhard Berger, Vettel can't handle all the pressure very well, and on the track, it doesn't seem any different. Give him a fast car and you will never see him again, but let him fight in the midfield and you will see the craziest things happen.

After all, where it can happen once, it can't happen to you that often. Vettel doesn't seem to be learning from all the incidents he has had so far. Of course, one crash is not the same as another, but if you have already crashed into someone many times, it should ring a bell.