The Official Sebastian Vettel Fan Support Group Thread

[The Black Knight]

I don't fully buy into the hypothesis that Vettel can't adapt to the new car. In 2008, Vettel sat in a brand new to him car and won the first GP ever for a Toro Rosso, I mean a Red Bull, team and then he went on to score more points than any Toro Rosso, I mean Red Bull, driver ever in history which helped Toro Rosso to beat even its mother team for the first and only time in team's history. Other examples exist. In 2012, Kimi Raikkonen came out of nowhere and joined Lotus after a two year break. Since the beginning of the 2012 season he drove as if he never quit F1 (up to the end of 2013 that is).

I kind of start wondering that Vettel is simply not as hungry as he used to be. The 2014 for him, is probably like the 2011 season for Hamilton. Facing the reality of racing in a clearly subpar car and with four titles under the belt, Vettel's morale took a hit. What's the best prize he can win this year? Third place in WDC at best. Perhaps being third means a lot to Ricciardo, but I can see Vettel feel a little disoriented when that's the best he can possibly hope for. An older driver would have just announced a retirement by now. (and we have seen it before)

Hunger is probably a factor alright but I also believe this is what distinguishes the brilliant drivers from the all time greats. There's a particular crop of driver that would never give up no matter what machinery they were given. These are the all-time greats such as Schumacher, Senna, Alonso all of whom I rate amongst the best drivers ever to grace an F1 car. To me, Seb had his chance to prove he was in amongst that crop of drivers this year and he has failed miserably. Believe it or not, even though I'm not a fan of is, I was hoping he'd prove he could do it because I'd hate to see a driver that doesn't belong among the all time greats having earned 4 WDC titles as it completely devalues WDC crown. He has had his chance to pull off a year like Senna 93, Schumacher 98, Alonso 2012 but he didn't. I know reliability has played a factor but he never even looked close. It's disappointing to say the least and he can't really blame driving style, it's up to him adapt to make the best of the machinery at his disposal. A 4 time WDC at his peak should be capable of doing this.

[Bagwan]

I don't believe it's any hunger or motivation issue at all .
He may be , in effect , running for third place in the game , but one is always compared to one's team mate , and no four time champ doesn't want to dominate in his own team .

What we're forgetting here is that these guys are not far from each other's pace .
The top nine at the last quals were within a half a second .

It's a damn fine line between having a car you like , and feel comfortable in , and having one described as undriveable .
Tiny adjustments make big differences .
Even changing the driver's engineer can rock the driver's boat .

It takes work to get all the ducks lined up , and only one dog in the distance to scatter them all .

[Doc Austin]

What does everyone think now?

I always figured Vettel had plateaued out. It seems the Ferrari move rejuvenated him a bit.

[anfield5]

Agreed.

I don't for a second think Vettel is as good as Fred, but he is a very, very good driver. He is in a win-win situation at Ferrari. We all know last years car was a big red dog, so the expectation on him this year is less. His 3rd in Aus was a great effort and proved that he is still a good driver. The only thing that can go badly for him is if Kimi roundly beats him.

In any walk of life you need a change every now and then to revitalise yourself. Credit to Vettel for taking the risk and moving when he did, especially to a dire looking Ferrari.

[rjbetty]

He must be doing alright.

I don't think it was Seb's Ferrari move was a big a risk as Hamilton's Merc move. At the time, it was known Newey and Prodromou were leaving and Renault were poor. But at the time Lewis let, many said McLaren had the fastest car, and there was no reason at the time to see that change.

However, it wasn't clear to me till recently how competitive Ferrari were going to be. I mean, before I knew about the reputed 80bhp engine hike, my Grand Prix 2 simulation spat Vettel and Kimi out 10th and 11th in the WDC!

I rate Seb as the 3rd best driver in F1.

[jens]

What does everyone think now?

I always figured Vettel had plateaued out. It seems the Ferrari move rejuvenated him a bit.

Let's put it this way. If last year Alonso had doubts about Ferrari being a better prospect than McLaren-Honda, then well, he must be reconsidering this statement!

I am not saying everything is all rosy and well in Ferrari. Obviously they are still a second off the pace. And they undergone major restructuring last year. But I think Ferrari hit their low point in 2014, just like they did in 2009 after major rule changes, and now it is time to attempt the tough journey of catching up with the leaders. And there is at least some posivites!

Nobody knows, how this co-operation (Vettel-Ferrari) ends up. After 3 or 5 years it may end in disappointment. It may end with no further WDC titles. But sure enough right now I feel excited. Forza Sebastian @ Ferrari!

It is great that a simple P3 can make so happy! So 4 titles is not all the end. It is good to have them, but there is more to achievements.

[kfzmeister]

Last year at the season opener in Melbourne ALO finished in the dog of a Ferrari exactly the same time off the lead car (some 30 seconds). It is really more telling when you consider who dropped away towards the front, RB and Williams.
All this hype about SEB and his first race at Ferrari, making it look like his feedback and the arrival have immediately helped gain performance. Utter crap. The car is still no closer.
Lets see what things look like in a couple races.
I'd be willing to bet a real resurgence from RB and Williams, especially Bottas

[henners88]

Last year at the season opener in Melbourne ALO finished in the dog of a Ferrari exactly the same time off the lead car (some 30 seconds). It is really more telling when you consider who dropped away towards the front, RB and Williams.
All this hype about SEB and his first race at Ferrari, making it look like his feedback and the arrival have immediately helped gain performance. Utter crap. The car is still no closer.
Lets see what things look like in a couple races.
I'd be willing to bet a real resurgence from RB and Williams, especially Bottas

It takes a good driver to finish where he did though. He was best of the rest after the Mercedes one two and it's clear the car is lacking rather than the driver. Kimi had a bad season coming back to a team that wasn't to his liking so Seb coming into a new environment with a new car is a situation I think he's handled quite well. I am sure he's frustrated it's not challenging for wins, but it's one race and he got a podium.

I was looking forward to seeing Fernando back at McLaren, however the package looks poor in race 1. It goes beyond anything the driver can do at present and hopefully they find answers soon. If they don't it will look like the second worst decision of his career and he's far too talented to be at the back. Seb looks like he made the better decision as it stands but there is a lot of work to do.

[jens]

Last year at the season opener in Melbourne ALO finished in the dog of a Ferrari exactly the same time off the lead car (some 30 seconds).

I am pretty sure last year there was a safety car in that race. Plus Hamilton had retired and Rosberg was unchallenged at the front, so could only cruise.

I am sure you are frustrated Vettel finished third, but don't worry - he won't be on the podium every race, he'll have worse days as well.

Good thing for me is that I don't feel the need to bash any drivers. I am just happy when the driver I like does well and don't feel angry about others, whether they succeed or not.

[zako85]

It's very premature indeed to judge the whole season by its first race. The affluent teams will continue car development during the season, and the engine manufacturers will continue the development as well since most of them have a number of tokens left.

Nonetheless, I am willing to believe into the rumor, promoted by all the news articles, quotes and blogs, that the Renault engine development has seriously fallen behind. Ferrari is now going to be clearly the number two engine, and the pace of Ferraris and Saubers confirmed this during the Australian GP. This doesn't mean that Ferrari will always stay in front of Red Bull during the season. Red Bull is an expert at tweaking the chassis, and they have proven in 2013 that they can bounce up from an also run up to a dominant team.