'Vettel hasn't been the same person since Hockenheim 2018'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
You could say that a four-time world champion like Sebastian Vettel deserves more credit than Ferrari gives him now. In any case, Vettel thinks so himself and that's why the two parties could not agree on a contract. Giancarlo Minardi, however, understands the position of Ferrari.
The former team owner says to La Gazzetta dello Sport that he had done the same as Ferrari. According to the Italian, the corona crisis offers the ideal moment to evaluate and make plans for the future. According to Minardi it has been clear for some time that Vettel would no longer be part of that future.
"It is clear that Leclerc has the future on the track. Seb has been in crisis since Hockenheim two years ago. I don't know how the relationship with Ferrari has been since then, but something has certainly changed. The arrival of Leclerc only made it worse. He showed that he is faster with the same car."
Minardi refers to the mistake Vettel made in 2018 on a slippery Hockenheim and definitively lost the connection with Lewis Hamilton in the championship. For the second year in a row he saw the chance to become champion with Ferrari falling apart.
Since then Vettel would have made too many individual mistakes and lost speed. According to Minardi, his age and the fact that he has a family could be reasons for this. Carlos Sainz is in his eyes the perfect replacement, although the experience of Daniel Ricciardo can't hurt.