Column | Poor Vettel is already regretting that he did not retire

Unconditional love from Red Bull

Vettel, with his four world titles, is one of the great men in Formula 1, but as Fernando Alonso predicted at the end of 2013: 'If you don't live up to it in other cars, then suddenly those world titles become worth a lot less'. The Spaniard proved to be right, for after Vettel's world title in 2013, none would follow.

Vettel is a fast driver who got all the support needed early in his career. The German wasn't the first 'kid' from Red Bull's training programme, but he was the first to make such an impression. It's no surprise then that Helmut Marko and Christian Horner gave him their undivided praise and rarely let him down, even if it was at the expense of his teammate.

Adrian Newey's warm bath and perfect car ensured Vettel won four world titles between 2010 and 2013, but like Alonso said: You have to show it to other teams as well. Vettel took that message to heart when he made the choice in 2014 to go to Ferrari the following year.

Following Schumacher

Vettel made that decision in a year with less support. Newcomer Daniel Ricciardo was faster than the German and with his departure for Ferrari looming, the support within the team shifted more and more towards the Australian. Vettel lost the duel to his teammate that year but will point to his imminent departure as an excuse.

At Ferrari, Vettel was seen as the saviour. He had to lead the team to titles after Fernando Alonso's whining, and Vettel suits that role to a tee. With Kimi Raikkonen by his side, he had no internal struggles to worry about, and after the disaster year of 2014, he hardly had anything to lose with Ferrari.

2015 and 2016 saw the same lineup, and in 2017 Vettel even competed for the title. A combination of reliability problems with the car and errors in judgement by Vettel put the team out of contention. Together, they looked ahead to 2018, but doubts arised. Can Vettel win the battle with Lewis Hamilton in an equivalent car?

Vettel gets dumped

In 2018, Ferrari's leadership gets the answer to that question: no. Vettel succumbed to the pressure in 2018, with the low point being his crash at home. The title slipped from his hands, as did the leading role within Ferrari. Sergio Marchionne, just before his death, puts a new stamp on the team: Maurizio Arrivabene and Raikkonen must go, Mattia Binotto and Charles Leclerc must become the new leaders.

Where Vettel is still fighting for his place within the team in 2019, he soon noticed that all the attention within Ferrari is focused on the new talent. Leclerc is the man who many believe will lead Ferrari to a world title. When Vettel is told by phone in early 2020 that he won't be needed at Ferrari in 2021, his spirits drop.

Vettel had to think about his future. The German was in doubt if he wanted to stay in Formula 1, but at Aston Martin, he got the project he hoped for. A unique brand of which he can become the new figurehead. Besides Racing Point was still pretty competitive in 2020, so maybe it is the right move from a sporting point of view?

Figurehead or marketing tool?

Vettel did not find the warm bath he had hoped for during the winter test. This already started with the layout of the test schedule. The afternoon sessions were the most valuable in Bahrain and you would think that the new driver would get those moments to get used to the car. The preference however went to the son of the boss: Lance Stroll.

If that wasn't painful enough already, it wasn't easy for Vettel either. Aston Martin as a team had a winter test in which many problems occurred, but mainly during Vettel's runs. Where Stroll managed to do 197 laps, Vettel only did 117, by far the least of anyone.

Vettel is a driver who needs the confidence of his team and needs confidence in his car. The team presented him to the outside world as a figurehead, but fair is fair; that only seems to be because of marketing considerations. After all, when the important choices have to be made for a session, Stroll is preferred. What will happen when there is one new front wing available? Vettel can ask Perez how the team deals with that.

Does Vettel have regrets already?

Aston Martin, with a copy of the Mercedes, seemed an ideal switch for Vettel. A stable car with especially a stable rear. However, he joins a team that has largely abandoned the former Mercedes design and still has to figure out how to deal with its own design.

I don't feel sorry for Vettel, but you wouldn't want this for the German. After being discarded like this by Ferrari one would have expected at least a warm bath at Aston Martin, but this looks more like a dive in ice water. Seb's attitude after the test really gave it all away: He hadn't expected this and he's anything but happy about it...

This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.