F1: Sebastian Vettel was once dubbed the next Michael Schumacher, he should have quit years ago
F1 drivers have an honourable tradition of quitting while they are ahead. Those who stick around risk futile attempts to relive their glory days. Seb Vettel was once dubbed the next Schumacher. Now he’s driven his legacy off a cliff.
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F1 drivers have an honourable tradition of quitting while they are ahead. Jackie Stewart won his third drivers’ championship in 1973 and never raced again. Alain Prost walked away after winning his fourth in 1993. Nigel Mansell lifted the 1992 title, took his leave of F1 at the end of the season, and surely regretted his brief and ill- fated attempted return a couple of years later.
Those who hang up their helmets and gloves leave with their legacies intact. Those who stick around risk undermining their achievements with desperate and ever more futile attempts to relive their glory days.
There have been a few of those down the years, but none, surely, has driven his reputation off a cliff with quite the same perverse determination that Sebastian Vettel has shown in recent times.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to remember just how dominant a figure Vettel was in his sport a few years ago. The German was hailed as the natural successor to Michael Schumacher when he broke into F1 - after a stellar career in other racing formulae - in 2008, his first full season in motor racing’s premier league.
Two years later, he lived up to his billing as he lifted the drivers’ championship for the first time.
The following year, 2011, he was untouchable, with 11 wins, 15 poles, and 17 podiums in 19 races. He was champion again in 2012, and then won his fourth title in 2013 with 13 victories against his name.
And if he had decided to walk away with his four world titles at the end of 2014 then he would have done so with his reputation well gilded and his place in the F1 pantheon secure. At that point, only Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio had won the drivers’ championship more often. Not a bad pair to be rubbing shoulders with.
In fairness, he was only 26 at that point, so he was not exactly staring into the abyss of declining powers. He also had a lucrative Ferrari contract on the table. Yet in the years since, Vettel has lived in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton, his Mercedes rival, and lately he has been living in the shadow of Charles Leclerc, his Ferrari team-mate.
After five races of a Covid-reduced season, Vettel is 13th in the drivers’ standings.
Worse still, he has become something close to a figure of fun in F1 circles after the miscellaneous misfortunes he has suffered in recent times. A driver once renowned for rigorous efficiency has become the Captain Calamity of the grid. He has spun more often than an Olympic figure skater and those off-track excursions have come to define the Vettel of today as much as his titles defined the Vettel of seven years ago.
Three months ago, Ferrari confirmed that Vettel had been written out of their plans for 2021, with his place being given to Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who is at present with McLaren. Relations have been strained since, and while both sides have tried to gloss over their differences, the cracks have been all too apparent. At last weekend’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, Vettel said that the team had “messed up” their tyre strategy. He may have had a point, but a more blatant mess-up was his first-corner spin, the rudimentary error that was the most significant factor in his lowly 12th-place finish.
Before this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona there have been strong rumours that Ferrari could be prepared to ditch Vettel before the end of this season. Paddock rumours suggest that Vettel is headed for a seat with the Racing Point team next season. If the Silverstone-based outfit want to muscle their way in among the big beasts of F1 then Vettel unquestionably brings the kind of profile and reputation demanded of drivers at that level.
“I know what I’m capable of,” Vettel said. “I know the job I can do. It’s not been the cleanest run [this season] but if things calm down and I get a decent chance then I’ll use it.”
Chances do not come easily or often in modern F1. Some might say that Vettel has had his already.
SPANISH GP GRID
Front row Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes)
2nd row: Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Honda) Sergio Perez (MEX/Racing Point-Mercedes)
3rd row: Lance Stroll (CAN/Racing Point-Mercedes) Alexander Albon (THA/Red Bull-Honda)
4th row: Carlos Sainz (ESP/McLaren-Renault) Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren-Renault)
5th row: Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) Pierre Gasly (FRA/AlphaTauri-Honda)
6th row: Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) Daniil Kvyat (RUS/AlphaTauri-Honda)
7th row: Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Renault) Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari)
8th row: Esteban Ocon (FRA/Renault) Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari)
9th row: Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas-Ferrari) George Russell (GBR/Williams-Mercedes)
10th row: Nicholas Latifi (CAN/Williams-Mercedes) Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA/Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari)