Time for Vettel to prove his mettle New faces
Mercurial German driver running out of chances to deliver elusive F1 crown to Ferrari
PARIS — After collapsing under pressure in the past two seasons, this could be Sebastian Vettel’s last chance to show he can deliver a long-awaited Formula One title for Ferrari.
If Vettel stumbles, the Italian team might throw its backing behind the young and ambitious Charles Leclerc, touted as F1’s next big star along with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
The season-opening race is on Sunday at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Vettel challenged strongly during the first half of 2018, when Ferrari surpassed Mercedes for speed. But just like in 2017, Ferrari made uncommon errors for such a proud team and Lewis Hamilton ruthlessly punished them as he sped to a fifth world title — his fourth with Mercedes.
Calamitous mistakes saw Vettel crash in the rain during the German Grand Prix to gift Hamilton victory. He then botched qualifying in Hungary when the skies opened again.
Ferrari’s long list of errors included a mechanic’s leg getting broken in Bahrain following a pit stop, and the team forgetting to attach Kimi Raikkonen’s water bottle during the heat-scorched Hungarian GP.
The mistakes ultimately cost team principal Maurizio Arrivabene his job. He was replaced by Mattia Binotto, who was previously Ferrari’s chief technical officer.
The 39-year-old Raikkonen, who won Ferrari’s last drivers’ title in 2007, has gone back to Sauber, where he started his F1 career in 2001.
All of this puts Vettel out of his comfort zone, for his relationship with Raikkonen was perhaps too comfortable.
Raikkonen’s public indifference to even his own success saw him apparently shrug off his podium finishes with trademark nonchalance, and an impressive victory at the US Grand Prix inspired little more than a grunt of satisfaction.
Raikkonen simply did not seem to have the hunger to push Vettel. But Leclerc does, and early success for the Monegasque driver could either bring out the best in Vettel or prompt Ferrari to revise its hierarchy.
“Obviously the two will be free to fight,” Binotto said. “If there is any ambiguous situation at the start of the season, Sebastian is the one who’s got more experience. He’s already won championships, so he’s our champion.”
Binotto’s caution is rooted in the fact Ferrari wasted countless points when Arrivabene did not prioritize Vettel over Raikkonen, even though the former was fighting for the title.
After the Italian GP, Vettel was exasperated by his team’s poor strategy.
The 31-year-old German remains locked on four world titles, all during Red Bull’s dominant era from 2010-13.
Hamilton took over after that, and broke Michael Schumacher’s pole-position record along the way.
Last season was arguably Hamilton’s best, and took him to 73 GP wins — within 18 of Schumacher’s F1 record.
As good as Hamilton was against Vettel, he was also on easy street inside his team.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas never won a race and was even less of a rival to Hamilton than in 2017, when at least he won three GP races. Even when he threatened to win one, Mercedes gave Hamilton clear priority over Bottas.
The only year Hamilton lost the title with Mercedes was in 2016, when teammate Nico Rosberg won nine races and pressured him.
The 29-year-old Bottas faces huge pressure to prove he can keep his seat for 2020. He needs wins, which might not be good news for Hamilton.
Here’s a look at other key issues heading into the new season:
Daniel Ricciardo hopes his unexpected move from Red Bull to Renault generates the same success Hamilton enjoyed after switching from McLaren to Mercedes.
At 30, Ricciardo has made a decisive career choice at a slightly older age than Hamilton did, but the Australian has speed and experience — seven wins among his 29 podiums — as well as audacity, being arguably the best at overtaking, alongside Verstappen.
But there are no immediate signs that Renault can compete with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
Ricciardo’s title challenge might realistically wait until the 2021 season, when widespread rule changes could shake up the field.
Robert Kubica’s return to F1 is already a success story after he almost lost his right hand in a rallying accident, so any success on the track will make his comeback one of Hollywood proportions.
The 34-year-old Pole wants to repay Williams for giving him another chance at a relatively late age and with questions over whether his fragile right arm can handle the heavy strain.
Kubica’s talent and determination aren’t in doubt.
Before the 2011 accident left him requiring seven hours of surgery on a partially severed hand and months of grueling mental and physical rehab, Kubica was one of F1’s purest talents.
He earned 12 podium finishes in F1 from 2006-10, and Hamilton considers him one of the fastest he’s faced.
George Russell, Lando Norris and Alexander Albon are making their F1 debuts after competing for last year’s F2 title, which Russell won.
The 21-year-old British driver has raw speed and a resilient attitude on track.
Norris has been considered a McLaren prodigy for the past two years, and the 19-year-old Brit finished a close second to Russell last year.
Albon has a shot with Toro Rosso. The London-born Thai driver showed some stylish overtaking moves when finishing second behind Leclerc in the 2016 F3 championship.