Ferrari Noticed a ‘Different’ Vettel in 2018

F1 witnessed a “different” Sebastian Vettel in 2018, according to Massimo Rivola. Rivola is a former top Ferrari engineer who also worked with the German driver in his Toro Rosso days.

Vettel looked the favourite to win the world championship last year until a mid-season slump.

“I don’t know what happened,” Rivola told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Every athlete needs the perfect balance to be at his best. I don’t know the Vettel of 2018 — my Vettel was different.

“I only hope that (Charles) Leclerc stays as he is,” he added, referring to the young star who has been promoted by Ferrari to be Vettel’s teammate from 2019.

Leclerc and Vettel will have a new team boss this year in the form of Mattia Binotto, and Rivola said: “I hope Mattia can work with serenity, but that’s not easy at Maranello.

“He certainly has all the qualities to succeed.”

Rivola has now left F1 altogether, instead turning to the world of MotoGP with Aprilia. “It’s never easy to leave Ferrari,” he said, “but Aprilia is a nice new challenge.”

Now, Former Ferrari team manager, Romolo Tavoni, has called on Sebastian Vettel to “regain his head” in 2019 or a decision will have to be made.

Vettel has spurned two very good chances in 2017 and, in particular, 2018, to end Ferrari’s long title drought as well as add a fifth trophy to his own cabinet.

Ferrari have been going through some major changes following the sad passing of chairman Sergio Marchionne, with the axing of Maurizio Arrivabene the most recent to be confirmed.

But Tavoni, who has a long affiliation with the team having worked alongside Enzo Ferrari in the 1950s and 1960s, thinks Vettel’s role is amongst the most decisive if the glory days are going to come back to the Scuderia.

“I sincerely believe that the departure of Arrivabene is just the first shock,” Tavoni told Italy’s Autosprint.

“Let’s not forget that Vettel did a bad championship in 2018. I believe the immediate future of Ferrari rests on the situation with Vettel.

“We saw some unacceptable mistakes, and now we just have to see what will happen.

“In other words, Ferrari has a new boss but it is also necessary that Vettel, the spearhead on the track, regains his head.”

Tavoni also welcomed the appointment as Mattia Binotto as new team principal, but feels he will need further help to ease the demand of the job.

He added: “He is a very high level engineer. However, his new role involves maintaining relationships with the other teams, dealing with politics and relating to Liberty Media.

“Overall it will be a very complex and very burdensome task, so I think that he will be helped by someone and that this appointment will be very important for the success of his term.”