WATCH: Sebastian Vettel Corrects His Ferrari Engineer Over Imaginary Car Settings During Mugello Practice

Earlier in the week, it was confirmed that Sebastian Vettel would be joining Aston Martin for 2021. It would bring an end to the Vettel-Ferrari partnership of six years and no championships. It is no secret that the German driver dreamt of doing an iota of what

Michael Schumacher achieved with the legendary red racing beast. But, flickers of brilliance have been marred by incorrect strategies and wrong radio calls. And so at the end of it all, this marriage is now heading towards a conclusion.

In what appears to be a latest addition to the series, a Ferrari race engineer was repeatedly heard saying “Mode W for engine deployment”. And Vettel who has an excellent grip on technical knowledge of cars, was not one to let this slide. He was heard correcting his engineer saying, “Mode W does not exist. Unless you mean Mode Wet”.

Previous Frustrations For Sebastian Vettel

Ever since the news broke out that Vettel’s contract will not be renewed at Ferrari, there have been such run-ins. Vettel has not been error-free of course, but the faltering strategies from Ferrari has not helped either. There has been a collective sense that Vettel is no longer first choice. So prioritizing Charles Leclerc seems to be their idea, who is the long-term future of Ferrari. At the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Vettel’s first corner spin led him to lose places. However after making his way up to 9th place, he was called into the pits – a strategy Vettel completely disagreed with. He ended up finishing the race in a dismal 12th and told over the radio that “they had messed up”.

 

The Spanish GP a week later did not seem to improve this fractured relationship. Finishing in 7th after slipping from an initial 5th, Vettel made it clear that the pit stop tactics had cost him positions. He was confident that he could make it to the end of the race against the rivals’ strategy. But Ferrari decided to pit him anyway whilst later asking if he could push further.

Such tension-filled conversations do not bode well for Vettel’s immediate future. But he would have expected to be made felt distant anyway, now that the Aston Martin move has been confirmed. All he can do is reminisce the good moments with the team and make sure he finishes the season to the best of his ability.