Seb is suffering from the Hamiltonian disease. Kimi is suffering from lack of memory. Kimi knows that in order to keep the tires alive on a long stint, that the tires need to be NOT pushed early in the stint. Ferrari told Kimi to push on lap 2 of the second stint, and Kimi should have told them to sod off. Sadly, hamilton is inside Sebastian's head, and seb believes only in qualifying and the first lap. Any long term fight will go against him as he tries too hard and makes too many little mistakes. Ferrari lost the race for Kimi, Vettel lost the race for Ferrari.
Alonso was not like that when he arrived, he was honoured to drive the red cars. It was when we started ****ing him about, and going backwards in development that he tried to fix things his way. If we were to swap Vettel out, then the replacement is clear - like it or not - Alonso comes back, and gets the next two or three championships hands down. He drives around issues, he is tough, and the likes of elton in his merc would be trembling in their cockpits if Alonso was given a car capable of fighting for a title. He may be personality-limited (much less now than before) but he is the first name on my list of replacements if we are getting stupid about Seb. We would be minded to remember that Ferrari’s number one carries the hearts and minds of Italy and 75% of the formula one fans in the world on his shoulders, he ****s up ocassionally due to the pressure as he can almost taste the blood in the water from the shrinking power that is Mercedes. If it doesn’t happen this year, then next year it will be a walkover for ferrari as merc has reached the zenith of their car, ours is in the ascendancy and has a long way to go yet to find even more speed and power. Forza Ferrari, and **** you merc
Vettel was awesome at TR and at RB. His demise came in his last RB year and he is going backwards ever since.
I think you are right. These last 3 months, we have seen his career coming apart through mistakes. I don't think Vettel will do better than Alonso at Ferrari. The rest of this season should tell us. If he can climb back from a 30 points deficit, and win the championship this year , I will say Bravo !! But if he finishes 2nd in the championship , that's as far as he will go at Ferrari - just like Alonso. At least Vettel has a more pleasant personality that Alonso.
The only way Seb can come back this year is if it all falls apart for Hamilton. Which is possible. But if we continue on the given trajectory, it is game over. But what's more important is the bigger picture: Vettel has been on a decline now for a long time. He looks more like Grosjean II than a WDC. He is reminding me of Alan Jones or Hakkinen when they tried their comebacks.
Minor point, Andreas: Mika Hakkinen never tried a comeback, at least not in Formula One. He left at the end of the 2001 season, never to return, even if he tested the 2005 car during the 2005-2006 interseason, for obscure reasons.
But the trick is, with Alonso at the wheel, it wouldn't be the same car. Alonso found a very good car when he arrived at Ferrari for for its first season in 2010; then, the competitivity of the cars eroded from season to season...the last car he had at Ferrari in 2014 was not exactly a flier...this downwards progression must have had something to do with him. In 96 starts at the wheel of a Ferrari, he won 11 races. Vettel won 13 in 73 races. Only food for thought. Alonso is a great driver, on track. But there are still flaws when you consider the complete package. Rgds
Oops, my bad. Got my wires crossed. Couldn't remember whether it was Mika or Mansell who did the "comeback" thing and it was bad. You're right, Mika just run out of steam after his three great years. Mansell switched to McLaren but didn't start the season and had a "comeback" a few races later only to then call it quits. More like an ending in stages than a comeback I should say.
Basically, and in a nutshell: Mansell left at the end of the 1992 season, the one when he was crowned, because he didn't want to drive alongside Prost again, and Prost has signed a Williams contract for 1993, and because Mansell had an argument over money with Frank Williams, although Williams insiders, such as Patrick Head, said that one minute before Mansell announced his retirement, he got all assurances that his conditions would be met; but he felt he had not been treated correctly, so he left for the US. He came back to Williams for four races in 1994, after Ayrton Senna's death, sharing the car with the test driver of the times, David Coulthard. Truth is, Mansell was not Williams first choice: Frank wanted Riccardo Patrese back, as he had just left Formula One at the end of the 1993 season, after one not very happy season at Benetton, and the Williams team valued Riccardo's input a lot. Patrese was very tempted, but eventually refused. When Patrese refused, Frank decided it should be Coulthard, but Renault got the jitters and wanted a more established driver, so Mansell alternated with Coulthard. He managed to win the last race of the season in Australia. Mansell then signed for McLaren for the 1995 season, and that was rather sad, because he couldn't fit into the car at first (his hips were too large) so missed the first two or three races, then had two indifferent races driving the car, which has been modified, then quit for good in the spring of 1995. Rgds
I think this whole conversation about Vettle is a bit stupid. 1. He is one of the best drivers out there. Period. has shown his ability 4 times World Champion. his mental state is fine. he's aggressive. 2. Ferrari failed to place any orders on Raikkonnen. in my opinion he should have NOT swerved infront of Vettle ... that is what caused the concertina going into lesmo chicane. 3. Raikkonnen is pretty much done. can be fast in flashes here and there but failed to win the race - eat his tires up completely ...just could not manage the race. 4. Mercedes was simply better prepared for the day. Ferrari continue to make bad calls from the pit. Strategy needs a much needed overhaul. first with a lock out on the front row, and Vettle contending for the championship - orders with 7 races to go need to be firmly in place. ... this did not happen. I fault both Vettle and Arrivebene for this. 5. Any thought or desire to have Alonso in a Ferrari again is counter productive. He has had a corrosive effect at Ferrari - and every team he's been with ... and he is mentally checked out. He is now more concerned with his own legacy and a "triple crown" than the nuts and bolts of F-1. To think he would be leading the championship in a Ferrari is just a foolhardy wish.
Having better strategy and avoiding the red mist is imperative. I hope Singapore won't be a repeat of last year. If it does, serious questions have to be answered, IMO. Vettel needs support at the Scuderia, including Kimi, just like Hamilton get it from Bottas.
I agree. Most guys never even get a podium and he’s a 4 time champion. That’s not luck. He definitely deserves some criticism but he’s still one of the best. So he’s making some mistakes this year and being harshly criticized. He’s a champion and I think it’s a good thing for a champion to be knocked down a little. It will ultimately make him dig deep, do some self reflection, work harder and improve his craft.
Mansell´s comeback was not that bad: he won a race of the 4 he made for Williams. At McLaren, Nige´ realized that he was too old to go trough that **** again.
Mansell going to McLaren was one of the most bizarre decision I have seen in F1. Ron Dennis and Mansell never saw eye to eye when the Brumie was at Williams. The media were caught by surprise at the announcement, and the body language during the ensuing press conderence was quite revealing. The situation was plainly awkwards with Dennis blabbering his usual ronspeak to Mansell twiching uncomfortably next to him. Many said it wouldn't last, and that the old animosity would restart soon. I don't know if Nigel visited Woking very often, or if the two even spoke to each other after that. I think the excuse that Nigel's backside couldn't fit the car was convienteintly invented to delay the inevitable: Nigel wanted out. After 2 races in a new chassis, Nigel couldn't take it any more to be Under Dennis' orders and threw the towel, to everybody's relief. These few months were really unreal for the insiders, I was told. It had been like a forced marriage, with the bride finally running off!
Did you not watch the replays? These are really amateur mistakes...I'd go as far as saying Loldonado calibre mistakes...and it's hard for a person to do any self-reflection when he can't even acknowledge that he has made a mistake to begin with...
So? Many pro athletes have bad times and get in a rut. Who’s to say he won’t come out stronger. Everyone wants to castrate him because he’s having a bad season.
Does your definition of "rut" extend to completely forgetting how to race? He's had more than 1 bad season, but this season is the one that matters because Ferrari has finally delivered a competitive, title contending car. And if you're using "pro athletes & other sports" as a comparative baseline, well, I'm pretty damn sure if a player/athlete in other sports keeps making these types of basic blunders his arse would be benched. Baku Paul Ricard Hockenheim Monza
