Vettel-Ferrari, the unfinished dream

Hope for the promising beginnings of Sebastian Vettel in Ferrari has withered over the years and disillusionment, to give way to frustration and regrets. All the same, there remains the memory of beautiful things.

Because there have been some in 5 seasons. 14 victories in red, the 3rd best total for a Maranello driver behind the untouchable Michael Schumacher (72 victories) and the legend Niki Lauda (15 victories); sacred duels with Lewis Hamilton storming a fortress Mercedes almost impregnable in this hybrid era, and a Scuderia back on track while the Italian team had started the V6 turbo era with a blank campaign.  

When Vettel arrives at Ferrari in winter 2014, both parties are looking for a new lease of life. The venerable Italian institution is coming out of a five-year term Alonso as euphoric at times as it is trying at others. For his part, the German already has 4 titles with Red Bull but he has just suffered the law of Daniel Ricciardo, a new star product in the Austrian fold.

Thrills and disappointments

At the dawn of the 2015 season, expectations are measured as Ferrari struggled a year earlier with the introduction of the new 6 L turbo hybrid V1.6. However, from the 2nd race of the year in Malaysia, Vettel made ring the bells of Maranello and capsize the hearts of fans by winning at Sepang to put an end to a drought of almost two years. The German opens his counter in red in style since he is ahead of the inexpugnable Silver Arrows in the Malaysian furnace. Two other successes followed for the Vettel-Ferrari pair that year with victories in Hungary and Singapore, completed by 9 podiums in the end.

2016 should allow the Scuderia and its new leader to realize the promises made the previous season. Unfortunately for Maranello, Mercedes has once again raised its level of play and Red Bull has regained its splendor. The SF16-H suffered from the comparison and concluded the year empty-handed, with Vettel only taking 7 podiums. The first cracks are also starting to appear in the Italian-German team. The fault is partly due to capricious mechanics – Vettel cannot line up at the start of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to an engine problem for example – but also to mood swings of the quadruple world champion.

This is evidenced by the barrage of insults uttered by Vettel against race director Charlie Whiting and a dangerous maneuver on Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the race in Mexico. While he had largely dominated his teammate Kimi Raïkkönen in 2015, the German was painfully ahead of him overall and was beaten in qualifying throughout the following season.

So close, so far

The 2017 campaign is getting off to a much better start. Ferrari has intelligently negotiated the turn embodied by the new high downforce aerodynamic regulations and its engine is now almost at the level of the all-powerful Mercedes. Vettel scores six podiums, including three victories, in the first six rounds and leads the Drivers' ranking at the summer break following a 4th success in Hungary. Despite this, the German missed big points, notably at Silverstone due to a puncture in the last laps, but especially in Baku where he sees red behind the Safety Car and hits Hamilton with the steering wheel, which will earn him a 10-second stop-and-go.

At the start of the school year, the Mercedes regained their strength and their rise in power coincided with the implosion of the Ferrari season. The first hard blow came in Singapore where Vettel, comfortably on pole, was caught in a pile-up at the start also involving his teammate Kimi Raïkkönen and the Red Bull of Verstappen. On a track that had not really been successful for Mercedes in recent years, Hamilton didn't ask for that much and inflicted a scathing 25-0.

In Japan, it was a defective spark plug which betrayed the German as soon as he entered the grid and forced him to retire on the 4th lap. Hamilton is refueling again. Mass has been said. Vettel saved his honor with a nice success in Brazil but the title was already decided from Mexico.

The German is off to an excellent start in 2018 even if he benefits from a helping hand from destiny to win thanks to the Virtual Safety Car in Melbourne. He did it again two weeks later in Bahrain, this time as usual. Two other convincing successes in Canada and at Silverstone allow him to approach his home meeting at the top of the championship.

Qualified on pole at Hockenheim, Vettel has the opportunity to strike a big blow since his rival Hamilton is only 14th on the grid. The German controls the race when a downpour sweeps the circuit at the end of the race and precipitates Vettel's fall. Ferrari driver makes a mistake in the last portion of the route and ends up in the gravel 15 laps from the finish. Hamilton completed his great comeback by winning. A major success in the title race since it allows the Briton to take control of the Drivers' classification. He won't let go of them until the end of the season.

While Hamilton and Mercedes launch a new dynamic of relentless success (6 victories in the last 8 Grands Prix 2018), Vettel seems lost. The German made a series of blunders and clashes (Italy, Japan, United States) to finish vice-champion of course but far, very far from his rival Mercedes in the general standings. Did something break at Hockenheim that year?

The irresistible rise of Leclerc

The 2019 season should allow us to answer this question. Vettel finds himself with a new teammate in his paws: the young Charles Leclerc, 21 years old and one season of F1 in the legs only with Alfa Romeo. The Monegasque did not take long to signal his intentions by threatening his designated leader from the opening round in Australia. Announced as big favorites, the Ferraris finished far from the Mercedes.

In Bahrain, Leclerc took pole position without a shot and came very close to his first career victory, while Vettel spun again during a duel with Hamilton. Mercedes wins first 8 races of the season and the outcome of the two championships is already in little doubt, once again.

Vettel still remembers everyone fondly by taking pole position in Canada. The German then leads the Montreal event but commits a small mistake cutting a turn before returning to the track just in front of Hamilton who had been harassing him for several laps. Found guilty of a dangerous maneuver, Vettel crossed the finish line in the lead but placed 2nd due to a 5-second penalty.

The German then fell back into trouble with a collision at Silverstone and a spin in Italy where the transfer of power with Leclerc seems confirmed. A masterful winner in front of the red-hot stands, the Monegasque, already victorious at Spa-Francorchamps a week earlier, has just replaced his illustrious teammate in the hearts of fans. 

Vettel prevents him from signing a hat-trick in Singapore where his steering and a great strategy put him at the front of the race for what remains Ferrari's most recent success in Formula 1. Tension then increases between the Scuderia drivers with a culpable misunderstanding in Russia and a fratricidal skirmish in Brazil. During the winter, the renewal of Leclerc's contract until 2024 seals the Monegasque's new status and places his teammate, whose current agreement expires at the end of 2020, in a delicate position.

Ferrari and Vettel initially wanted to continue the adventure together beyond this horizon but it quickly became apparent that their hearts were no longer really in it. So what’s the point of continuing? If the divorce is finalized, both parties still have a few months of living together and, hopefully, a Formula 1 season to go. A tight, intense, furious, crazy campaign, perhaps.

The new Ferrari SF1000 didn't look as sharp as its rivals Mercedes and Red Bull during winter testing in Barcelona but who knows? A blow from Trafalgar here or there, a little breakage among the competition, and here is Vettel who could sign a last stand in his quest for a 5th title. A world victory in red that he dreams of so much, as a kid climbing the walls of Maranello to try to see his idol Michael Schumacher, then at the height of his glory with the Prancing Horse.

“There are a lot of fairy tales around Ferrari and the feeling of driving a car in red and I can confirm that these tales are not just stories: the legend really exists,” confided Vettel after his first laps with the Scuderia on the Fiorano track in December 2014. He has a slim chance left, but a chance all the same, to rewrite the scenario to give it a happy ending.