Sebastian Vettel Believes He’s the ‘Best Judge’ to Assess His Disappointing Ferrari Stint

It’s safe to say that Sebastian Vettel’s stint with Ferrari did not go as planned. The German driver joined the team as a 4-times world champion back in 2015. His aim was to win at least another world title with the red team that was very close to his heart.

However, that dream never came true and ended in the most horrid fashion possible as Vettel only amassed 33 points from 17 races last year.

Many fans blame Ferrari for not furnishing Vettel with title winning machinery. But the now Aston Martin man instead takes the blame upon himself.

He insists that it was his fault for not rising up to the challenge, even when Ferrari had substantially better machinery as compared to last year.

He said, “I don’t know if I buy into this pressure thing. I think you put pressure on yourself. I had a clear mission and target to win.”

He added, “I think the pressure in Italy, the fans, and so on, yes it is there, but ultimately, I always set the highest expectations on myself and I think I was the first and best judge if I didn’t achieve them.”

2018 German GP not the reason for downward spiral, says Vettel

At the Hockenheimring in 2018, Vettel crashed his car into the barriers on Lap 51 while he was leading the race. This is touted by many to be the race that sent Vettel’s career with Ferrari downhill.

However, Vettel himself doesn’t seem to think so. He said, “Rest assured that when I stuffed the car in the gravel in Germany, I wasn’t happy before the Tifosi weren’t happy. But I am definitely not holding that as an excuse for coming up short here and there.

“I think if you are ambitious to win, and you have the target to win and to succeed, then you’re the first one to realise that yourself, and it isn’t depending on the pressure from outside.”

Vettel’s chapter with Ferrari ended with him bagging 14 wins and 55 podiums across 6 seasons. The German was axed from the team even before the 2020 season began.

His future in F1 seemed to be in limbo for a good few months. But then Aston Martin came along and snapped him up to replace Sergio Perez in September.

Will the 4-time World Champion be able to rekindle his form at a new team? We’ll find out once the season kicks off in Bahrain.