When Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari as a successor to Fernando Alonso in 2015, expectations were soaring high, and the German lived up to it over his first outing. He almost had his hands on the title, but Mercedes’ consistency denied him from securing it.

Since then, he constantly remained in the rear-view mirrors of Mercedes and denied them any time to breathe; the 2020 season being an exception. Overall, he did an impressive job with the Maranello-outfit, securing occasional wins and podiums.

Hence, during the 2020 season, the odds of Vettel, a four-time world champion, sticking around Ferrari for the following years were high. However, Ferrari did the unthinkable and sacked the German from their team, which came as a shock to the F1 community.

So, one might wonder, where did it all go wrong?

Well, former Ferrari driver, Alonso, had the answer to this question.

Alonso’s view on Sebastian Vettel

Speaking to Raisport, the Alpine driver opened up about Vettel’s outing at Ferrari and the primary reason why the team left him behind after 2020.

Apparently, it was Charles Leclerc‘s entry that disrupted the German’s happy running with the team. The moment the Monegasque stepped into the team, Ferrari realized Vettel wasn’t good enough and started hunting for other options.

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“A world champion at home would have increased the pressure,” he said. “And then, after 5 years, it became clear that Seb couldn’t be the savior of his homeland, that Leclerc has more potential.

“Sainz must have seemed like the right driver to accompany Charles.”

Ferrari has one goal, which is to win championship titles. Their vast history in the sport only piled up more pressure over the team to deliver, and unfortunately, Vettel just couldn’t grasp onto that goal.

Hence, despite Vettel’s applaudable performances during his stint at the Reds, Ferrari felt it wasn’t sufficient, and had to juggle the drivers’ line-up a bit.

Can Ferrari aim for the title with the new line-up?

Ferrari made some poor decisions over the past couple of years, which pulled them down to the mid-field. Like any other team, it would have been tough for Ferrari to recover.

However, luckily for them, their misery might extend to just one more year. With the major regulation changes in the pipeline, every single F1 team will have to build entirely new cars, which will increase the likelihood of witnessing major shuffling on the grid.

These regulation changes will come as a blessing in disguise for the Italian team, as they can start from scratch, leaving their terrible memories of 2020. and potentially 2021, behind.

Overall, will Sebastian Vettel’s contract termination provide Ferrari with a change of fortunes? Can the Reds return to dominating the F1 grid after over a decade?

Top 5 Moments: Sebastian Vettel