Vettel: 2019 season has been 'ok'
Sebastian Vettel says his 2019 season has been "ok".
The quadruple world champion is currently embroiled in rising tension with his highly rated young teammate Charles Leclerc, who has won two races in 2019 compared to Vettel's one.
To the German magazine Sport Bild, Vettel said he gives his performance a rating of '2 minus'.
"I think overall it was ok, for me it's just important to understand what happened this season," said the 32-year-old. "If you're honest with yourself, not just in the area of sports, you always know whether you have given everything or whether you could have done something better."
Amid the rising tension with Leclerc after the latest team orders affair, Vettel was at Maranello this week for a meeting with team boss Mattia Binotto.
One potential theory is that Binotto proposed that Vettel become the 'number 2' for Leclerc in the final year of his current Ferrari contract.
"I think Sebastian will still drive in 2020," Gerhard Noack, a karting guru who worked with Vettel and Michael Schumacher, told Kolner Express. "What happens after that is written in the stars."
Vettel was asked how it feels to be slumping in his fifth year at Ferrari, whereas his hero Schumacher won the title for Maranello in the same period.
"It's not like there is a blueprint for how to become a German world champion with Ferrari. You can't just compare eras like that," he insisted.
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I am not sure that Seb is staying with Ferrari next season, and if so he is smart to know that his team mate Charles will exert more pressure on him to perform better and that means that Seb needs to regain his composure and go for it ,and show that he is more than a match for Charles if team orders are suspended so those 2 can race against each other providing Ferrari gives them the same treatment and do not show favouritism. We know that Charles is new generation with a lot promise but he yet needs to do a lot racing to achieve what Seb has done and even he might not be able to return the crown to Ferrari as I expect other drivers to be in hot pursuit.So Charles should appreciate Vettel as he can teach him a few things in order that one day he will get F1 title.The trouble with Charles that he seems to have a bee in his helmet and he just cannot get rid of it! We certainly do not want a huge storm brewing in Ferraris cup!
Agree with every word Jadra has written. I think Charles is a bit of a spoilt brat who throws his toys out of the pram if he doesn't get his own way! He wants it all now and would even push his mum off the train if he thinks that will give him the number 1 spot at the red team. He needs a tight directive management style!
Charles Leclerc is in at the deep end,which is a place he has largely put himself into and he is feeling his way in a team that will not give chances lightly.He obviously needs to establish himself as a title contender against an already 4 times world champion because he cannot afford to be number two until Seb either moves team or retires - the clock is always ticking,especially when other young guns are lining up to fill the seats of the tardy.
The issue of rivalry between the team-mates is always present and in all teams.
It is a role - and obligation - of the team principal to manage that, and ensure it does not come at the cost of wins, reputation, and drivers' morale.
In that respect Ferrari have done a poor job under both Arrivabene and Binotto. They get F, not for Ferrari, but for Fail!
The issue of rivalry between the team-mates is always present, and in all teams.
It is a role - and obligation - of the team principal to manage that, and to ensure it does not come at the cost of wins, reputation, and drivers' morale.
In that respect Ferrari have done a poor job under both Arrivabene and Binotto. They get F, not for Ferrari, but for Fail!