Remember when some of us were saying Vettel should have been sacked on the spot in Brazil - effectively he was, I would guess.
Ferrari has data from all their past drivers to compare apples to apples; pretty sure they clearly saw Vettel wasn't measuring up to benchmarks set by previous #1 drivers and their #2 rookie driver in Leclerc. Said it many times before, those 4 WWDC titles belong to Newey, not Vettel.
He drove the car and it was suited to him nicely. Since the last title the new cars are not his liking. A full assessment of Vettel is one that yields average skill in close driving quarters (race-craft), poor strategic thinking and impulse control. Not a pressure driver at all - Zero capability. He was at Ferrari 2 years too long in my opinion. Over rated and serious over payment for his lack of skill compared to others. FA and LH exceed him by a wide margin as does Ricci, Max and Charles. He can qualify but he does not race well - when -it -counts!
So have to ask why they didn't just fire him and pay off his contract? No suitable available driver at short notice? Perhaps they offered Macca to break Carlos contract? I have a feeling they will treat him so bad this year that he will just walk when he starts getting the Bottas treatment.
So funny as my woman and I discuss this issue of why they did keep him as we watch 'Rush' lol I think no real suitable driver and as she says to me - why pay him off and then pay another lol
@DF1 i respectfully disagree. If Seb wasn’t in any of Newey’s cars the other driver would be champion; that’s how dominant it was. Same applies for Merc, if Hamilton hadn’t been there, the other driver would’ve clenched 6 titles easy peasy. Biggest difference is Hamilton has run against much faster teammates at Merc and McLaren and proven he can hold his own against the best of them/title contenders. Seb’s only proven he can beat pushovers like Webber. When paired w faster mates, and rookies no less, like Ric and Lec, he’s been utterly and consistently destroyed in equal equipment. Beaten in two different teams w de facto #1 status by rookies...that’s the legacy that I will remember, not the Newey-gifted WDC’s. Kudos to being in the right equipment at the right time though, that’s really good fortune. His overratedness has been proven, and is no longer a hypothetical argument.
I certainly see all your points. I will give credit as he did drive and was lucky to have such a designer be available. His legacy of defeat by Jr drivers is amazing and only shows how little speed he actually has in comparison to many others. When faced with real competition he does not hold up well at all.
I will be surprised if he manages to last 10 laps before spinning off or crashing into Sainz/whoever..the red mist will be exploding in his head .
Red mist, for sure. But forget Sainz, red mist will be strongest for his teammate, so he’ll probably run into Leclerc! Again.
Quite interesting in-direct answer to why Vettel was released from Binotto on SKY F1. I think its simply Ferrari deciding to let his contract run and be released. They did not think continuing was a good idea for the future. It is not easy to discern what Binotto is saying. https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/12020439/sebastian-vettels-ferrari-exit-mattia-binotto-on-2021-f1-decision Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto has explained more about the reasoning behind their decision not to offer Sebastian Vettel a contract renewal - and admits the German still does not fully understand their call. As Sky Sports reported in May, Vettel was not offered a new deal by Ferrari for 2021 despite Binotto saying during winter testing in February that the four-time champion was their "first option" to continue alongside Charles Leclerc for 2021. But on his first public appearance since news of the end-of-season split emerged last month, Vettel said at the Austrian GP on Thursday that he learned of Ferrari's decision in a phone call from Binotto and was duly left "surprised" by the turn of events. Speaking in a Sky interview on Friday, Binotto said Vettel had been "honest and transparent" in his remarks to the media and also gave a more detailed account of the timeline behind their decision to drop the German for Carlos Sainz. "During winter time a lot of drivers asked us if there was any opportunity, and that's normal at that time," said Binotto. "But as we said privately with him and publicly, Seb has always been our first option. "But what happened later on is certainly the pandemic changed the situation completely in the world, but also in F1. A more-strict budget cap, regulations which have been postponed which for us were important, 2022, and cars which at the moment are almost frozen and as well for next year. "The season has not started and as well for him there was somehow an opportunity [lost] for him to be back on track and really try to prove his intentions to drive fast for Ferrari etc." Binotto added: "We had to take a decision which is somehow a responsibility and we took the decision, I informed him. "I think while he accepts the decision because he is a great and professional guy, I think he never really truly and fully understands it and I think that is part of his surprise. Yes, I think he was surprised which I understand as well." The Ferrari principal insisted the "relationships are still great" between driver and team as they begin the delayed 2020 season in Austria this week. But Binotto hinted the way he communicated the news to Vettel could have been handled differently. "Is the decision right at first? It's always very difficult to tell, hopefully we made the right decision," said Binotto.
Binotto's rather vague response: Binotto reiterated on Friday that over the winter Vettel was indeed the team's first choice, but the crisis and the rule changes that came with it triggered a change of plan. "Certainly we have always said to him during the winter time privately and publicly that he would have been our first choice, which I confirm," Binotto said. "It's normal that during the winter time many drivers ask us if there are any opportunities to drive for Ferrari, so we have certainly been contacted. That didn't change our position, so Seb was our first choice. "What happened since then? I think the virus and pandemic situation, which changed the entire world, not only our motorsport, our F1. The budget cap has been changed by quite a lot, and is a lot more strict, the regulations have been postponed from '21 to '22, which somehow was something important for us. "Cars which have been frozen, or almost frozen, for 2020 and '21. So let's say the entire situation has changed. "And on top of that the season has not started, so there has been no opportunity even for Seb to be back on track to prove how much he was really motivated to drive for Ferrari, which has been somehow unfortunate for him. "So during the shutdown as Ferrari we had to eventually reconsider our position. We took a decision, so certainly that was our decision, that is our responsibility, and we communicated to him. "I heard that he was surprised – I remember that he was surprised, yes certainly, I understand it, it's pretty normal to be surprised. While he accepted our decision I would say even today he's not fully happy with it, which again I would say is something which is normal and obvious." https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-explains-vettel-exit-decision/4823977/ Best, Sammy
Reading between the lines looks like Vettel has said the problem is the car ....and with the delay for the new regs to 2022 Ferrari took it that he would not have the motivation and did not accept that he was a big part of the problem .So they will try someone else in the car .
What about him beating Webber flat during their times there? You make it sound like as if Seb has zero talent, which I think is not fair
Bibo himself needs to be replaced. He seems to be a really weak leader. He's kinda lucky that 2020 is such a short season, otherwise i expect him to be long gone by next year.
The old saying has proven its worth time and time again: "the worst ennemy of Ferrari is Ferrari". Charles Leclerc might have the potential to be World Champion; but to do it, he needs a car and a team; Fernando had the potential and the fighting spirit; Vettel had the potential probably also, in a different way. But the cars and/or the team let them down. Since Kimi in 2007, who benefited from the energy of the Todt-Brawn-Byrne impetus, Ferrari has managed to shot itself in the foot constently. I sometimes think that they find more enjoyment in internal intrigues than in winning races. Looking at the results of free practice yesterday in Austria, Sainz must already have some questions in his mind... What they need first and foremost is a direction in management, and stability. Rgds
Possibly but Vettel also saw clearly who was beating him in equal machinery and was loved by the Italian press lol! He may have also thought his position was secure and assumed he was staying. The team had zero motivation to keep him and his error prone style. This is an upper management stepping in over Binotto to move the team forward without Vettel. The cost of his salary, lack of return on that investment and his errors costing them in the press, on the track etc. Keeping him could also make it possible for Charles to move to another team as well. Disharmony would look nice to Mercedes and Bottas seat in the near future no? Why risk that for an over paid, petulant error prone so called 4x WDC lol
