Sebastian Vettel has been endorsed to turn around his form from the top manager of Ferrari after the world champion’s season lurched in the GP.
Vettel’s early spin out of fourth place – and – consequent pit-lane punishment for what was deemed by stewards for a’dangerous’ battle on his return to the trail with Lance Stroll – came on the day team-mate Charles Leclerc stopped Ferrari’s nine-year wait for a home Monza success using a stirring win facing the Tifosi.
The latest mistakes of vettel add to a collection of errors in race conditions within the past two seasons – but Louis Camilleri, Ferrari’s chief executive, insists folks are unwise to write among their F1 ’s most-successful ever motorists off.
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 as Ferrari celebrated Monza success, Camilleri admitted”we are likely to have to raise his spirits” but insisted:”I do not like the fact that people are attempting to write off Seb.
“He is an amazing driver and that I have every confidence that Seb’s going to return.”
Camilleri’s opinion was shared with Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, that does not doubt that Vettel will go back to his very best form.
“Don’t write off him, because he’s a four-time world champion,” explained Wolff to reporters.
“The gap between the amazing ones and the great ones is that the excellent ones are able to get up and I don’t have any doubt that he can do this.
“He had a spell of bad races and it will be on the ability to get himself back to where he deserves to be. Now, for certain is a bad day .”
But is Leclerc Ferrari’s number one?
Following a disappointing run ahead of the summer break, the intra-team battle for supremacy between the young and recognized driver of the team has become one of the biggest stories of F1 2019 Even though Ferrari are effectively not despite Leclerc’s back-to-back wins.
Ferrari started the season by stating they would provide precedence in 50-50 calls to Vettel, however, Leclerc has now consistently outperformed the 32-year-old lately.
Leclerc has qualified in the last seven races and maintained their first two wins of 2019. Leclerc also moved ahead of Vettel by 13 points at the Drivers’ Championship.
“Mattia has said they’re equivalent,” explained Camilleri.
“We began the season like that [with Vettel as priority], matters evolve over time”
But can Vettel, whose Ferrari contract runs into the end of 2020, reassert himself against the in-form Leclerc across the rest of the season?
Sky F1’s Nico Rosberg believes former rival and his countryman finds himself in a place that is difficult – but states Vettel will work his way.
“This instant must be quite so dim for him. His team-mate just became a complete Ferrari legend and has taken the number one status in the group, probably, by him,” said Rosberg.
“Vettel is just one of those guys who has a great deal of self-confidence, therefore that’s going to help him much through this. And at F1, it is so short-lived that it just takes one race that is powerful one race, and you are back.
“We shouldn’t write him off because he can return very quick – but it’s not a simple one.”
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