Scuderia Ferrari Expecting Sebastian Vettel to Buck Up and Improve

Published 07/27/2019, 6:53 AM EDT

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Sebastian Vettel has been on a downward spiral ever since the 2018 German Grand Prix. It all kicked off when he was comfortably leading his home race, only to crash out a few laps from the finish. Since then, the 4-time World Champion has been susceptible to making mistakes. Now, it seems that Ferrari are losing patience rapidly. According to team principal, Mattia Binotto, Ferrari “expect more” from Sebastian Vettel.

At the mid-point of the 2019 season, it is not difficult to think that the German driver is undergoing a crisis. However, the quadruple world champion has firmly stated that that’s not the case with him.

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Speaking to German broadcaster RTL, Sebastian Vettel said, “Crisis would be if I had no idea how to do better, or if my speed wasn’t there,”.

“When things are going well and not going so well, I know myself best.”

In a time where a number of rumours of him retiring are floating about, Vettel is still standing strong. He also has a number of allies backing him to bounce back, these include seasoned drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

“I told you that I haven’t been reading much about myself, so unfortunately that means I don’t see the positive things either,” Vettel admitted.

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Meanwhile, former F1 driver, Ralf Schumacher is of the opinion that Sebastian Vettel is simply overdriving. He attributed this to the fact that the Ferrari is “too slow” compared to its rivals.

“Vettel is therefore taking significantly more risk in order to have any pace,” revealed the former Williams F1 driver.

Meanwhile, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto was also questioned about Vettel’s current situation. However, even Binotto leaped to his driver’s defence from his harshest critics.

“Clearly he has made mistakes, as in Silverstone,” he said. “His pace is good, and sometimes it’s not a mistake but just part of racing.”

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“What we have to do is be honest and say ‘We expect more from him’ and ‘maybe he has not been as good as he was in qualifying. But he remains very relaxed and focused. He will find a way to improve things.”

Now, the F1 paddock heads to Hockenheim for the 2019 German Grand Prix. Here, Sebastian Vettel will have to battle the demons of 2018 and try not to crack under pressure again. He has already proven that he can win a race this season and the Canadian Grand Prix was proof of it. Sadly, he had it cruelly snatched away because of a 5-second time penalty. Even though he cross the finish line first, the penalty relegated himself to second.

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Now, it is clear that desperation is starting to settle in as he tries everything to seize victory or an extra position. This was evidenced during the British Grand Prix last time round, when he ploughed into the back of Max Verstappen. However, at this weekend’s German Grand Prix, it is time for Vettel to pull up his socks. The real question is, can Sebastian Vettel lead the charge for Ferrari or will it be a repeat of last year?

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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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