Why Sebastian Vettel Has Every Right to Be Furious at Ferrari F1

For Sebastian Vettel, it was yet another difficult Sunday and on F1’s 70th Anniversary weekend no less. The 4-time World Champion couldn’t make it past the first turn of the very first lap of the race before suffering a spin, which is increasingly becoming a part of Vettel’s race highlights.

But the drama didn’t end there. After the first round of pit stops, Vettel called out Ferrari over its strategic folly and rightly so.

Sebastian Vettel: The strategy that made no sense

Starting on the hards by virtue of free tire choice, Vettel could have easily extended his first stint by a considerable number of laps.

Staying out in free air without any traffic would have bolstered the German’s claim to a series of much-needed points in the race.

Now, some may argue that Ferrari opted for the early stop because of Vettel’s spin. However, Vettel was heard saying on the team radio that he was happy to stay out.

Despite Vettel’s preference, Ferrari unwisely opted to stop the German for Hard tires again, sooner than expected.

Vettel didn’t hold back from letting the team know of its costly mistake. Allegedly, Ferrari and Vettel acknowledged the effect of traffic before the race but ended up shooting themselves in the foot.

Vettel even explained his radio outburst during the post-race interview.

“We went also onto a hard tire which we then only had on for ten laps, probably not even that, so it didn’t make any sense.

“I mean why would you put the hard for ten laps and put the medium for 20 laps? So I was running out of tires towards the end, so we spoke about exactly that,” exclaimed Vettel.

After the first stop, Vettel rejoined a train of cars, with his race compromised for good. In a move that can only be described as baffling, Ferrari stopped Vettel for a second time, putting the German on medium compound tires for the rest of the race.

Ultimately, Vettel ended up doing 22 laps on hards in the first stint, 10 laps on hards again in his second stint, and 20 laps on mediums. Towards the end of the race, he didn’t have the rubber to break into the points tally.

Admittedly, Vettel didn’t do himself any favors with the spin, but his race didn’t end there. Ferrari’s decision to stop early and perform a meaningless switch is what truly unraveled Vettel’s race.

SOURCE- Formula1.com