With Sebastian Vettel’s retirement around the corner, many now look back on the German’s career. Many consider Vettel’s shift to Ferrari the disastrous move in his run, which cost him a few more world championships.
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The man who once won four consecutive titles with Red Bull Racing dwindled and lost his streak to Lewis Hamilton while he was with Ferrari.
Vettel’s impeccable racing put Ferrari back on the map. But, despite race wins and pole positions, the world championship title kept slipping from their grasp. Many consider the decision to switch to Ferrari a catastrophic one for Vettel, where Ferrari’s tragic strategic fails cost him championship titles.
But Vettel disagrees with these comments and has no regrets about Ferrari.
“I had a fantastic period at Ferrari. I was close to the world title twice, but we failed,” said Vettel.
The Aston Martin driver added, “There are reasons why we didn’t win, but I’m calm about it. I spent a lot of time at Ferrari, and I have a lot of respect for the team and for everyone there.”
While Sebastian Vettel might have felt his share of frustrations at the time, he seems to have nothing but praises for his former team now.
Mattia Binotto talks about Sebastian Vettel’s contribution to Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel’s term with Ferrari ended abruptly, as the Scuderia team didn’t renew his contract post-2020.
On the other hand, Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari in 2019 and swept the board clean in his wake, leaving Sebastian Vettel slightly overshadowed. Now many consider this to be the reason why Ferrari parted ways with Vettel.
However, one must not forget what Vettel brought to the team. He gave Ferrari its first Grand Prix win after two years, not to mention its first pole position in years. And the Ferrari team principal acknowledged this at the time of Vettel’s parting.
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“Sebastian is already part of the Scuderia’s history, with his 14 Grands Prix wins making him the third most successful driver for the team, while he is also the one who has scored the most points with us,” said Mattia Binotto.
“In our five years together, he has finished in the top three of the Drivers’ Championship three times, making a significant contribution to the team’s constant presence in the top three of the Constructors’ classification.”
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WATCH THIS STORY: Breaking Down the Intense Title Battle Between F1 Champions Lewis Hamilton & Sebastian Vettel
Whether Ferrari was a boon or a curse for Vettel does not matter anymore. What does matter is that Vettel described his time at the prancing horse as ‘fantastic’.