Irvine: Vettel 'not worthy quadruple champion'
Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine thinks the Maranello team should make Charles Leclerc its number 1 driver.
Irvine said at the start of the year that he thinks Vettel would be "a sitting duck" now that Leclerc is his teammate.
"I thought Leclerc had a good chance of beating him because I don't think Vettel is a worthy four-time world champion," Irvine told Betway in Italy.
"I think he is a very good driver, but he makes a lot of mistakes and I never really thought he was that fast.
"We saw it with Daniel Ricciardo and we're seeing it again now. Vettel got an amazing deal with Ferrari. I was surprised because it was at a stage where he was getting destroyed.
"I think Ferrari have to focus on Leclerc. We've seen this season Vettel not being sacrificed because he is a four-time world champion - they've lost wins because of it."
Irvine, 53, knows Mattia Binotto well from his days at Ferrari, describing him as "smart" and "super calm".
"But I think this is one of the difficult things that he has to get on top of, because I think Vettel can do damage to Leclerc's chances of winning the title which I don't think Bottas can do to Hamilton," he said.
"The only guy who I think can race at the same level as Hamilton is Leclerc. Hamilton always destroys Vettel in a head to head.
"If you look at what Leclerc did to Hamilton in Monza, it was probably illegal but it was so perfectly done that it was hard to punish him for it. That's why I am really interested to see Leclerc to head to head with Hamilton more often," added Irvine.
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Wow, a former F1 driver with a well supported opinion. How refreshing.
That Vetel is a good driver there is no doubt, but we must acept the fact that he did his 4 titles in a rool, with the best car/PU at that moment. As soon as Renault lost his pace, RBR started to get behind, and Vetel also lost "his grip". And if Ferrari thouht at any moment that was finding in Vetel a new Schumi, sorry to say that it was not a mistake, but a big one
Too many negative opinions about Vettel probably contributed to him being distracted from totally focusing on his driving and hence he has underperformed with Ferrari and he missed a few opportunities to win races . We should not write him off as I believe he still can recover next season providing Ferrari give him a car capable of winning at the beginning , not halfway through the calendar.Hamilton will continue to win as long as Mercedes maintains their overall advantage and Ferrari makes excuses for not getting the best performances out of their cars and causing their drivers to make errors and fail to produce results expected of them.Leclerc is not a miracle kid that would bring another championship to Ferrari as I see a few more young drivers from other teams challenging him.As long as Ferrari are divided within the team they will not be winning the crown in the near future.As for Seb he will know when it is time to leave F1 with dignity and enjoy other things in his life.
"Irvine: Vettel 'not worthy quadruple champion" - Well, if that is true, does it not apply to Hamilton as well? (both had the best "equipment" during their "reign'...).
Hamilton hasn't always had the best equipment, if that was true his team mate would always be joint top of the WDC. Not only that Ferrari has been top dog at various points of the season
When has he not had the best equipment? 2007 and 2018 were Hamilton's best years, but Mercedes has been class of the field since 2014, which is underpinned by the fact that Mercedes ended up 1st and 2nd in drivers's standings in '14, '15, '16 as well as '19. Not once have I ever seen Hamilton outperform his car - he exploits it to its very best, but when its not a winning machine then he's not a contender.
You forgot to answer my question i.e 'if that was true his team mate would always be joint top of the WDC''.
2018 for starters, Hamilton would have won in Vetels faster Ferrari by way not making mistakes under pressure.
You seem to forget Bottas in the same car as LH wasn't 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th but fifth.
As I said "if that was true his team mate would always be joint top of the WDC." or at least second? No car Answer that question first, you also forgot that at various points in seasons past a Vettel has been leading, so then Surely Vettel had the best car before binning it
Well let me tell you Webber had the same PU/equipment so you sound very stupid mate sorry
plus Nico Rosberg fought to the last races 2014 until abu-dhabi, 2015 was a mess and 2016 he clinched the world title
so IF BOTTAS IS A lower class driver and came with a supportive role its doesn't change the fact the Mercedes are on league of their own since the start of the hybrid era
and regarding eddie the legend irvine hes criticizing the quadruple 4 times world champion having 4 race wins ROFL!
Not as stupid as you mate! Webber?? "so IF BOTTAS IS A lower class driver " if, if . Did you even read my post look at the 2018 results and come back to me, Ferrari had the better car and beat the Mercedes of Bottas.
What I was saying that vettel had the best car so as Webber
Hamilton had the best car, Nico too and bottas
Why bottas is a lower class driver because they brought him as support to Hamilton
2018 ? One year after after ferarri failing to Deliver one good car for 2 season and stumbled after the summer break of 2017 yet not speaking about the terrible start of the current season!
This have a huge psychological effect and would increase the pressure on such driver been waiting for a good car for 3 years and one or two mistakes and all of the sudden he’s the worst out there !
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