D-5: Will Vettel leave the red zone?

No one becomes a four-time world champion by chance. Let this sink once and for all into the heads of those who continue to say that the German owes his titles only to the period of domination Red Bull. No doubt, concerning him, his debut at Ferrari in 2015 was too idyllic. Perhaps it would have been better if he arrived at the lowest Team for, like its model Michael Schumacher, rebuild the team around him and in his image. Now that he knows the true face of the Scuderia, he is undoubtedly better equipped to provide the right remedies for the ills that plague it.

Last year, the more the Scuderia fell into the hierarchy and Maurizio Arrivabene – its boss – into sarcasm, the more the German fed on frustrations. Hag began to accumulate small errors, to lose his composure more and more often. We were treated, from then on, to a boy that no one knew: jeering, bantering, crying, insulting on his radio anyone who had the presumption to get in his way. Massa and Alonso, among others, were entitled to it, even Charlie Whiting, technical director of the FIA, saw a few names rained down on his authority. If the Prancing Horse does not become more docile again, who can say that its No. 1 pilot will not be thrown off again?

Discover the challenges of the 2017 season in the Guide F1 AUTOhebdo, still available in digital version on all platforms and on kiosks.