At the end of the 2020 season, Ferrari said goodbye to Sebastian Vettel. Sebastian himself has expressed sadness that he and Ferrari did not achieve their goal of a world championship. We should not place all of the blame on Sebastian, as some would do. Sebastian has done a fine job for Ferrari and it all looked like it was on the right track up until the sad and untimely passing of their CEO, Sergio Marchionne. The changes internally at Ferrari that followed must have had a distracting effect and, although they never admitted it, they must have had consequences for the Formula One team. Sebastian is a world class driver who has won four World Driver’s Championships. It would be foolish for anyone to assume that he has somehow lost his ability. To win a championship, things have to be right in all departments and clearly something somewhere has not been right for Sebastian at Ferrari for a while now.
Charles Leclerc, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. Getty-Images.
It is easy to understand how, at the beginning of the year when Covid 19 pandemic hit, Ferrari (who are located in the heart of the Italian outbreak) considered that they might not get to race at all in 2020. With the effect of the pandemic and the upcoming Formula One budget cuts, it can be seen how it made sense for Binotto to make changes then and move forward with a new young team for 2021. Unfortunately, the process of letting Sebastian know seems to have been handled very badly. Sebastian Vettel deserved better. In a difficult year for everyone and a miserable season for Ferrari in particular, he still managed to claim a podium when his race craft and experience trumped the youthful enthusiasm of his teammate in Turkey. He has conducted himself with class and dignity throughout this trying year.
On reflecting on his time at Ferrari we must remember this. Since the hybrid era started in 2014, Ferrari has won 17 Grand Prix. Sebastian achieved 14 of those victories. He deserves to be counted amongst the legends of Ferrari.
On a happier note, I was very pleased to see that the driver replacing Vettel will be Carlos Sainz. This is an excellent choice by the Ferrari management. Sainz was a junior series champion, winning the Formula Renault 3.5 series in 2014. His start in Formula One for the Torro Rosso team ran into problems by the presence of Max Verstappen. The Red Bull organisation clearly considered Verstappen to be their future top driver, leaving Carlos in the junior team for three years. He was loaned to Renault after the departure of Jolyon Palmer in 2017 and raced for them from the US Grand Prix onwards. He spent the 2018 season with Renault before joining McLaren in 2019. He achieved a podium at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year and went on to take a 2nd place finish in Italy this year.
Ferrari have paired Sainz with Charles Leclerc and it is thought by many that Leclerc will be the team leader. I sincerely hope that Ferrari are wise enough to give both drivers equal status within the team. Charles Leclerc is undoubtedly one of the most talented drivers of his generation but doubts remain about his temperament. Carlos, on the other hand, is also a great talent in his own right. The son of the World Rally Champion, he has not only inherited Sainz Snr’s speed and driving skill, but also his cool head. He credits his father with showing him how to be a professional. Carlos has the ability to build a team around him and make it work for him. He has a great work ethic and a strong personality. He will be a fine team player and an excellent benchmark for Leclerc. If Ferrari politics don’t come into play, Carlos could well establish himself as the number 1 driver at Maranello. It would not surprise me at all if the next Ferrari world champion were Sainz, rather than Leclerc. Hopefully, it will also be an opportunity for Leclerc to raise his game and realise his full potential. These are exciting times for Ferrari, who have surely got themselves one of the most talented driver line ups in Formula One for next season. It will be fascinating to see how this develops. With two potential world champions on the team, we could be on the verge of a golden age for Ferrari.
By Clare Topic
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