If Sebastian Vettel Retired, How will the Driver Market Change for Ferrari?

Published 07/22/2019, 8:41 AM EDT

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Since the 2018 season, Sebastian Vettel has been having a torrid time at Ferrari. A series of silly mistakes that year cost him the world championship to Hamilton. Now, in 2019, those silly mistakes are continuing in the 2019 season, while his younger teammate Charles LeClerc is capitalizing.

While Scuderia Ferrari have insisted that they still view Vettel as the number 1 driver, it is a matter of when that will change, rather than if. Mattia Binotto has said that as long as Vettel is ahead in the championship, he is their main priority. However, in the wake of the latest setback, namely the crash with Max Verstappen, LeClerc is only 3 points behind his teammate, with three back-to-back podiums.

There are also a lot of rumors floating about, of Sebastian Vettel likely leaving the sport. Although Sebastian Vettel has vehemently denied such an outrageous claim, it does beg the question, what if he did retire?

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This will open up a free slot at Ferrari and thee will be a lot of people gunning for that seat.

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The Probable Candidates:

Mick Schumacher is one of the hottest properties in the driver market for the 2020 season. Scuderia Ferrari did not hesitate to rope him into their Ferrari Driver Academy, bringing him a step closer to following his father’s footsteps. Admittedly, in the FIA Formula 2 championship, he has been having an up and down season. The highest he has ever finished, was in 4 at the Austrian Grand Prix sprint race. A 6 place at the British Grand Prix sprint race places him in 14 in the championship.

Max Verstappen is another driver who is seeking a way to find a stronger team. Although he is contracted to Red Bull and they are keen to retain his services further, talks emerged of a clause in his contract. According to Helmut Marko, if he is not higher than 3 in the championship, he may seek greener (or redder) pastures.

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The Improbable Candidates:

Antonio Giovinazzi was touted to be another rising talent, and placing him in Alfa Romeo is a great stepping-stone. However, the fact that his older teammate, Kimi Raikkonen is consistently faster, has not helped him fast-track his application to the Scuderia. With Kimi Raikkonen in the twilight of his career and unlikely to return to Ferrari, Giovinazzi could be a ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ move.

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Pascal Wehrlein had left the Mercedes program at the beginning of the 2019 season so that he could join the Mahindra Formula E team. Smelling blood, the Ferrari team cast out their net and snagged the German driver into their team as their test and reserve driver. This could be a huge opportunity to really stick it to the Mercedes team and show them what they could have had with retaining Wehrlein. He has already proven himself in F1 with eye-catching performances when racing for the now defunct Manor, and with the Sauber F1 team. Even in Formula E with Mahindra, Wehrlein was one of the standout rookies.

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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