How on earth to sum up Sebastian Vettel's time as a Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow driver? That's the inevitable question - one of the inevitable questions - following the confirmation that he won't be a Ferrari F1 driver for 2021. According to Team Principal Mattia Binotto, "the time had come to go our separate ways".
It's hard to summarise Vettel's Ferrari career because it seems so full of conflicts. He's had more wins as a Scuderia driver than 2007 champ Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, only one behind Niki Lauda in fact - yet they seem clouded by the results given away. In the context of any other driver, to have finished in the top three of drivers' championship three times and helped keep their constructor in the same position throughout their time in the pit lane would be an achievement; but this was four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, and Ferrari's F1 team - more was expected.
Of course, the dominance of Mercedes-AMG in the hybrid era (and Red Bull's before that) must be taken into account; the very fact that a team and driver of Ferrari and Vettel's quality hasn't challenged for the title in so many seasons is surely the strongest testament to that. Nobody has, really. So that shouldn't be forgotten in Ferrari's (and Vettel's) failure to secure a championship for so long.
But anyone who has followed F1 for the past couple of seasons, either live or via Netflix's Drive to Survive, can't failed to have noticed some disquiet. The arrival of Charles Leclerc to Ferrari in 2019 was pivotal; having taken pole in just his second race at Bahrain, he went on to outscore Vettel in last year's championship - not what the number two driver should be doing.
As a result, it felt to some like Vettel was on borrowed time as a Ferrari driver. Today the news was made official, with a statement issued by the Scuderia. "The team and I have realised that there is no longer a common desire to stay together beyond of this season", said Vettel, adding that money has not been a factor and that the past couple of months "have led many of us to reflect on what our real priorities are in life." He went on in the statement to thank "the whole Ferrari family and above all its 'tifosi' all around the world, for the support they have given me over the years." Binotto also contributed further: On behalf of everyone at Ferrari, I want to thank Sebastian for his great professionalism and the human qualities he has displayed... we believe that we can still get a lot out of this unusual 2020 season."
So that's that; come the end of F1's 2020 campaign, whatever it may turn out being, Sebastien Vettel will not be part of Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow. Given the German is still only 32, he must still have some good racing years ahead of him; speculation for now is on who will fill his seat, with Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz said to be at the head of the queue. With 2021's big technical shake up now postponed until 2022, drivers will want to ensure the best seat possible for next year ahead of the rule change. Regardless of Mercedes' recent dominance, it would be naïve not to think Ferrari won't be challenging in '22 - whether Vettel will also remains to be seen.
Of course, PHers are already discussing Vettel's departure in the forums - join the chat here.
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