The Official Sebastian Vettel Fan Support Group Thread

[zako85]

Never thought that people would take the OP literally. Must try harder.

[Ranger]

If there's one thing Vettel really nailed, it was the exhaust-blown diffuser Red Bull cars, which Webber didn't really come to terms with. In certain races where that advantage was negated due to rule changes/clarifications (i.e. Silverstone 2011), Webber was a lot closer to him.

I'd say that's the reason Vettel is not doing so well this year, now that there's no exhaust/diffuser loophole to exploit. I think Ricciardo is more consistent and mentally tougher than Webber was, but Vettel hasn't really figured out the RB10 yet.

I don't miss his irksome celebrations though.

[airshifter]

Never thought that people would take the OP literally. Must try harder.

I assumed that the post was somewhat tongue in cheek, but it reflects fairly well on what is going on with quite a few forum members here. They get so wrapped up when their driver wins and talk smack, then act all butt hurt when things change.

To me F1 is about being the cutting edge of motorsport. I want changes in drivers, cars, tactics, etc. And I'm not going to whine and cry when a driver I like starts to decline. It's the nature of racing. Some people will defend their driver or attack another driver at all costs and with great bias. At that point it's just blind faith and not paying attention to the reality of the results.


I think if Seb gets his head back in it he might have a chance to at least mostly catch up with Ricciardo. And overall the RB isn't a terrible car this year, it's just no longer the car that dominates. I do think things could change quick if Newey steps too far away though, and that might cause a downward spiral with the team.

[driveace]

Can't be much wrong with the RB as Ric has been on the podium more than any other driver not in a Merc ,so I consider it is the best of the rest .But you are not tempting dj out of his lair onto this thread yet !

[dj_bytedisaster]

When was the last time the reigning world champion failed to win a race the following year? Villeneuve in 1998? Vettel is half way to achieving the feat which says everything you need to know about his season.

He should have won Canada. He was in front of RIC all race until the team utterly botched his second stop. They even publicly apologized to him. So it's not that he's forgotten how to drive. He had almost all mechanicals this year. He's just having a horrible year and for whatever reason the team seems to shaft him for some reason. Out of six testing days this season, RIC got three and Vettel got two and that after he already had a deficit after winter testing, not to count the frequent car failures during the season. The mileage advantage of RIC must measure in the thousands by now.

[Hawkmoon]

He should have won Canada. He was in front of RIC all race until the team utterly botched his second stop. They even publicly apologized to him. So it's not that he's forgotten how to drive. He had almost all mechanicals this year. He's just having a horrible year and for whatever reason the team seems to shaft him for some reason. Out of six testing days this season, RIC got three and Vettel got two and that after he already had a deficit after winter testing, not to count the frequent car failures during the season. The mileage advantage of RIC must measure in the thousands by now.

I don't think you can read too much into the amount of testing Ricciardo and Vettel have done. Someone of Vettel's class shouldn't need thousands of kilometres of testing to come to grips with a car. From memory Schumacher used to sit out much of winter testing in his later years with Ferrari and he never seemed to suffer from it.

You'd have to be mad to suggest that Red Bull would deliberately sabotage their 4 time defending world champion in favour of the new guy who's never finished higher than 6th prior to the season. It's just not going to happen. Canada may have been a screw up but these things happen. Yes Vettel has had his share of mechanical trouble this year but Ricciardo has had a mechanical DNF in Malaysia and a DQ in Australia so it's not like the Aussie has had a trouble free season either.

The fact that we are even having this discussion shows how bad a season Vettel is having. He's a class driver and he'll recover I'm sure but give his teammate some credit because he deserves it.

[jens]

Even based on 2014 form alone Vettel is still a good driver, though not very good at the moment. I'd certainly rank him among top6 drivers on the grid even on current form. 3 DNFs with car failures and a few races, where he has been held up for significant parts of races haven't helped his cause. But Red Bull together with Mercedes has one of the closest team-mate battles on the grid. But I am glad Red Bull team-mate battle is exciting and both drivers are going well, at the present moment Ricciardo is the man in form.

And if someone asks, why do I consider this team-mate battle close:
- UK. Ricciardo finished ahead, but Vettel was pretty much having a good shot at beating him, largely let down by strategy.
- Austria. Ricciardo was better (at least in Q) though Vettel's car broke down early so we have no clue really...
- Canada. Running absolutely together till the final laps mess with Ricciardo winning.
- Monaco. Vettel was actually ahead with a better start, but his car broke down.
- Spain. Ricciardo comfortably third, but Vettel came from way behind to get 4th. Both had speed.
- China & Bahrain. Two weekends, where Vettel really lacked speed.
- Malaysia. Ricciardo had problems, but Vettel was ahead of him before that anyway.
- Australia. Vettel had car problems all weekend.

In short. Ricciardo slightly better so far, but Vettel has had speed on most weekends and overall it is close. However, as mentioned above, it looks like Ricciardo is much more consistent than Webber and Vettel has a tough time capitalizing on any weaknesses Ricciardo might have. Looking at Ricciardo's driving, he very much looks like a top driver - very fast, consistent, error-free. What else do you want? If you race against such driver, it is hard to beat him.

[henners88]

He should have won Canada. He was in front of RIC all race until the team utterly botched his second stop. They even publicly apologized to him. So it's not that he's forgotten how to drive. He had almost all mechanicals this year. He's just having a horrible year and for whatever reason the team seems to shaft him for some reason. Out of six testing days this season, RIC got three and Vettel got two and that after he already had a deficit after winter testing, not to count the frequent car failures during the season. The mileage advantage of RIC must measure in the thousands by now.

You didn't have much sympathy in 2012 when Hamilton was on the receiving end of poor pit-stop's, poor strategy, and bad reliability. Why the sudden change of heart with a different driver?

[zako85]

HEREUPON I SUMMON ALL OF VETTEL'S FAITHFUL,

At the Italian GP Vettel was beaten by his teammate fair and square once again. This is an extremely difficult time for all of the fans of our Holy Vettel. I am calling upon all of you to stand strong and refrain from abandoning the ranks of the faithful in order to defect to the Ricciardian infidels. We need to discuss our future strategy. So, what do we do next?

[journeyman racer]

I never notice this thread before lol

As each races passes in 2014, Vettel is devaluing the achievement of winning a F1 title.