Back in the 1970s, Emerson Fittipaldi experienced a Formula 1 career of two halves.
For five years, first with Lotus and then with McLaren, he blazed away, becoming a two-time world champion – the youngest yet in F1 history – and a 14-time grand prix winner. But over the course of the next five years, his star burned out as he turned his back on McLaren in favour of his brother’s Brazilian-backed ‘dream team’ that dwindled into a nightmare. Fittipaldi never won another grand prix and left F1 in 1980 as yesterday’s man.
In just five years at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel has equalled Fittipaldi’s total career tally of 14 wins. But in the context of his time at Red Bull, in which he claimed four consecutive world titles and lowered the record for youngest ever world champion, his latter career in red has largely been written off as a failure – another dream that has dwindled into a nightmare.
The lack of a fifth title and a wince-inducing string of driver errors have sent the German’s reputation into a tail-spin. Perceptions are harsh in F1: a man who is third in the all-time list of grand prix winners (53), behind only Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (84), is stained by a question mark that suggests the numbers flatter his true standing.
IT’S NOT OVER YET
Vettel’s communication breakdown with Ferrari sparked a three-day frenzy of lockdown driver market musical chairs, as Carlos Sainz signed to replace him and Daniel Ricciardo in turn took the Spaniard’s place at McLaren. Except, of course, they haven’t. Not yet. The game only counts for 2021, and the trio must first see out their current obligations if or when the 2020 season finally gets under way.
The plan is for F1 to resume with a double-header at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on 5 and 12 July, followed by twin races on consecutive weekends at Silverstone, subject to UK government approval and a possible exemption from the new, undefined 14-day quarantine rules.
If racing does get going, Vettel should be hungry for a successful Ferrari coda, adding to those 14 wins and even claiming that craved fifth title. It seems a long shot: Ferrari’s spotlight will now surely be trained solely on to its young talisman, Charles Leclerc, who is contractually committed for the next five years. Still, fortune is a fickle mistress, and you never know. Vettel is still too good and too proud to be written off quite so easily.
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Let see then.
F1 is back!, let's see if he's got the fight, the desire to win!
Yes, when he can't get away
Sad, but time to go.
Seb's had his time. Like all recent champions he won his titles in a great car, and clearly had the measure of the blown diffuser style.
Not as much as tainted, but doubts about where he sits in the greats book. Against team mates he beat Webber who was just average, he got roundly beaten by Ricciardo, beat Raikonnen soundly but not by as much as Alonso did, and got beaten by Leclerc. No luck reasons why he was beaten by team mates. Clearly too many errors in last three years too. A very good driver, great out of the car personality, bit irrational in the car sometimes.
Hamilton matched Alonso in his first year, beat Button in first year, then spent the following year crashing into Massa and was beaten (mostly his own fault), and then beat Button in the last year if I remember correctly. Beat Kiovalenen easily, beat Rosberg easily apart from 2016 when he was unlucky with reliability (he was comfortably faster overall in the season), and has dominated Bottas.
So the three best drivers in the era who won titles came out close between Hamilton and Alonso (I suspect Hamilton would edge him), and behind is Seb. Not a disgrace in that company.
Yet to see the new guys fight for title. Verstappen seems the real deal, Leclerc for me is over rated so far. No one else stands out to me.