Maybe. They also know they produced a dog of a car. So they can't blame Seb too much. Here is hoping Lance will wipe the floor with him.
Vettel is almost 1 sec behind Leclerc; in F1 that's huge ! I hope Lance Stroll will be competitive next year.
Crofty is so bad I am almost missing Diffey, which I did not think was possible. Sound off is the only way to watch anymore between the terrible noise from the cars and Crofty’s fake enthusiasm that this is somehow exciting.
So by inference, Vettel is admitting that he’s not at the level of a top driver—as was already evident when Ricciardo trounced him at RBR—and hence why he’s been barely more competitive than an aging Kimi in an Alfa the last few races. What a waste of energy for Ferrari these last few years considering what a top driver could have done in place of Vettel. Next year he’ll be a year older and having been humiliated this year I don’t think he’ll pull anything special out of the tank, especially considering how tRP have been going backwards with their homemade updates. I also think Stroll will run him very close and he’ll probably end up retiring at the end of the season.
Not so sure about Stroll. I tend to believe leclerc is something else as Max is. Perhaps Charles is the fastest of all on a single lap ? Who knows ?
Charles IS special. The point about Stroll/Vettel is that the gap from Vettel to Stroll (if any gap at all, especially by next year) is much smaller than the gap between Leclerc and Vettel.
i think there are a couple of things at play with a Vettel: 1. He cannot adapt his driving style to the car...was even true In his final year at RBR 2. He sulks when he feels unappreciated. His behavior is similar to that in his final RBR season. if stroll is his equal (meaning preferential treatment) he will struggle again at Aston Martin
Anybody remember whose record for wins Schumacher broke? Knowing that info is what makes this feel so unlikely but it does take an incredible situation to see these types of totals occur twice.
Lewis going for 92 so he can tie the record of two of the greatest drivers combined. Prost 51 + Senna 41 = 92 wins between these two legends. Can Lewis grab win number 92 tomorrow?
The exposure of Vettel is complete. His titles seem far less impressive. His record against team mates is not at all good. He has a seat for marketing certainly not dominating performance of late lol. He may yet recover but who thinks that is realistic given the last 3 years in a team where he was favored.
Wow, first this: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/152989/lgbtq+-movement-criticises-petrov-appointment ... and now this: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/153043/petrov-replaced-as-race-steward-after-father-death Father shot dead?! WT? Wild West.
Quite entertaining quali today. What a mega track! The driver experience must be awesome. Ham just brings it. Yet again. Bot 6.0 needs a reboot, poor man. Leclerc - performance of the day. How the hell did he do that! P4?! Outstanding and way beyond where the piece of s*** lame donkey of a car deserved to be. Top 3 within a quarter of a second - could be a great race. And the high possibility of safety cars should spice things up nicely. Vettels sorry performance was somewhat embarrassing. That’s what happens when Ferrari mis-management succeeds 100% in demotivating a driver...
It may be the case that Vettel needs to be mollycoddled to perform. The announcement that he wouldn't be re-signed for next year BEFORE the season started must be the demotivating factor.
Others were released and still do well. Vettel needs to leave if that is the end of his world. Its beyond pathetic now. He is simply NOT THAT GOOD.
I think Vettel just ran out of gas after his 4th WDC. At Ferrari he hoped he could coast to one more championship but hungrier drivers and teams haven't let him get away with it.
Agreed. Ricci made him look bad in his last RB year. I didn't realize it then and thought it was a fluke but in reality he was already past his use-by-date. The time at Ferrari was a waste. As will his time at Aston be.
I’m still not willing to canonize Max as “the next dominant driver”. I would love to see he and Charles in competitive equipment. I think Leclerc has a tremendous “feel” for getting a car around the circuit cleanly. Max is more a bullying, hard-driver type. Different styles, both effective.