Vettel plans to retire at the end of 2019

He likes spending his MB money on Ferrari. Is his car white or ....
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Red?

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More and more I’m thinking this could very well happen regarding Hamilton going to Ferrari

 

Ferrari: Lewis, we want to get you into one of our cars.
Lewis: I fancy a LaFerrari
Ferrari: That’s not what we meant.

 

^LOL. That's how that conversation would go down.

 

he has two LaFerraris. Red hard top and white aperta, both kept in Los Angeles

 

You mean as well as being a total dipstick, Elton is also a greedy bastard!!!!!!!!! Hehehehehe.


Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission

 

Bianco Fuji.

 

Rosso Fuoco, or Rosso Scuderia 2007?

 

Has he had it since new? I first thought he bought the <400 mile one at FoBH, but noticed it's not the same upon closer inspection.

 

I believe he’s the first owner of both.

The LaF Aperta at FoBH is still in their showroom. Its owner lives in Wisconsin.

 

I just clicked on this thread and read all 10 pages. I might have missed a poster stating that Vettel is under contract through the end of 2020 with a salary of $51m per year. From a business viewpoint he won't retire. In my and others opinion when given the best car and on the pole Sebastian is hard to catch and pass. I was fortunate to attend the race with his first win at Monza driving for Red Bull in a drizzling rain. Nobody came close. Unfortunately he is driving the 2nd best car [sometimes 3rd]. With the best car he is nearly unbeatable. But Ferrari year after year is playing catch up to MB. Just when we think the Scuderia has matched MB the Silver Arrows pulls something out of their bag of engineering mastery and they run away. I am no expert but Vettel as he gets on in years can't compensate for Ferrari's valiant efforts that come up short.

It was interesting to see that LeClerc has shown his skills combined with the reaction times of youth to be faster than Vettel. Did anyone notice that Giovanazzi out-qualified Kimi? More of the same. Equal equipment where youth adds speed. These are difficult realities for a veteran driver to accept. I do agree that it seems the team is giving Vettel priority treatment over Leclerc. That will change in due time if Leclerc continues his show of superiority in skills. This season is a "write off" for Ferrari. I wish Seb could get a hold of his emotions and not make the mistakes when he knows better. I was in Austin last year and watched his inexplicable move right in front of me. It's frustration.

[okay....a little off track but it was really cool to see Kimi win in Austin. I tell everybody he won because I was wearing my "Leave me alone I know what I am doing T-shirt that I bought here from an FChat poster. My girl framed that T-shirt for me. After the race we bumped into Kimi's team manager. While I congratulated him on his great race strategy [saving Kimi's tires] he was not exactly exuberant. Although it wasn't announced Ferrari was dropping Kimi the team manager was very sullen after the win. And at the race when Kimi was asked how it felt to win after years of drought he said "I think my fans are happier than I am". Those two instances at the USGP told me Kimi was no longer to drive for Ferrari.

Before we left Austin by happenstance we met friends in the lobby of a hotel. Lo and behold there was Seb with his kids and fiance and her mom. The kids were playing on the floor just like any kids. Every person in the hotel was respectful and didn't enter into the family's space. I looked at the mom and showed her I would take a picture of Seb without anyone seeing. She gave me a nod. There was no drama, no paparazzi, no entourage, nor intrusion. Seb was just another guy in the hotel. While here on FChat he is vilified and criticized the reality is he truly is probably one of the top 5 drivers in F1. My guess? He and Ferrari come to an agreement and he retires. Knowing that Ferrari will continue to struggle might result in the end of Seb in F1 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Great post. Sebastian IS, and always has been, a top driver. Ferrari haven’t given him the equipment to show it, year after year. Now, he is demonstrating the traits of someone frustrated and overdriving to make up for the deficits that are so obvious, and maybe for him, even he sees the exit looming and the need to be tidy instead of go balls out is beginning to disappear.

Mercedes have the best car, and have done for five years. It’s not slightly better than the rest, it is a whole step faster under almost every circumstance. They have a second almost over ever other car at the start of every weekend, so all they do is check the roster to see who is their team leader, and make the circumstances dictate that he wins. If he has an off day, they allow their number two to mop up. No other team has been close except Ferrari last year, and of course, as soon as they showed promise, the FIA stepped in and nobbled the car with their ******** accusations and additional monitoring.

Seb is a nice chap, one of the sports gentlemen, so while I support him in the ferrari, I’ve no wish to see him continue to tarnish his reputation any longer in the Ferrari, and hope he does move on, but I guess, he is better off retiring than circulating with some mid field team, unless he returns to red bull when Max leaves then for Mercedes. Surprisingly for the naysayers here, I think it will be Elton retiring first, as he won’t be able to cope with Maxine in the other seat, he’ll get destroyed by a top driver, beating dipsticks is easy, bottles is only spoken of as a top driver in his own household and by the infirm!

 

They gave him championship capable cars as far back as 2017 and 2018.

 

HDS - - - Hamilton Derangement Syndrome.

 

No they didn’t, Mercedes just had time to understand their car properly, and get Pirelli to adjust the tyre compound. Ferrari were never going to win in either.

 

I echo Scantera and Dayton355's view.

Sebastian is a top tier driver and he is reaching some kind of end.
Would others have fared better at Arrivabene's SF? I doubt it and we will never know.
So we see a decent man in an unhappy place.
I hope the money men don't ensure that he sees out his contract and that similarly SF act reasonably.
One thing about Sebastian is that he has never appeared to be hooked on the glitz and glamour, he can walk away into family life as a rich and accomplished man.
In the mean time he is a Ferrari driver and I wish him luck, and victory for our team in every race.

 

I can only agree with you.

Very few pilots retire while still at the top.

I think Lewis will retire while still at the top. Unless he switches to another team ofcourse

 

Agree with others that Vettel's racing career has seen better days. Best for all concerned if he walked next season

Would personally love to see Hamilton as the lead driver for the Scuderia. Pipe dreams I know.

Would be Perfect for Leclerc to continue his learning curve as No.2.

 

Kimi was told that his contract would not be renewed at Monza.

It appears to me that Seb has thrown the switch. Canada may have been a pivotal event--he realizes that Mercedes will never be beaten. He is driving with desperation, Charles is not.

+1

 

Vettel had a good career. He has not taken advantage of the car and its capabilities due to consistent errors. Errors normally seen in non WDC 4x driver. I’m sure he is a fine parent. That is not the debate.

 

Seb is desperate to emulate Michael, but he doesn’t have the equipment to do so, and he is overdriving in his attempts to make
Something happen. Each mistake makes him panic more that he will run out of time to achieve his goals


Forza Ferrari..... the only racing team and car marque that matters. Italia forever It’s easier to apologise than it is to ask permission

 

No matter the title status, he has not driven to win as lacking patience on lap 1 etc. He hindered his ability to win. Keep himself and the team in the mix

 

No idea whether Vettel retires, but honest to God he should. He is a driving embarrassment to his former glory.

If he doesn't retire, I hope Ferrari sacks him before the end of the year.

 

No matter what Vettel decides for next year, why would Hamilton want to come to Ferrari??

I assume Hamilton's main goal currently is to surpass Schumacher's 7 title record. Maybe after achieving this he might considering moving to Ferrari.

So I think either Vettel continues with Ferrari next year or another driver except Hamilton takes over his seat.

If I were Ferrari, why would I spend 50 million on a driver? I would spend 5 million on any of the drivers currently on the grid and use the remaining 45 million to get improve the car.