Truemag

  • News
  • Current Drivers
  • Races
    • 2018 United States Grand Prix
    • 2018 Mexican Grand Prix
    • 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix
    • 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
    • 2019 Australian Grand Prix
  • Scuderia World Champions
    • Michael Schumacher
    • Niki Lauda
    • Kimi Raikkonen
  • Memorable moments
  • Ferrari F1 FAQ
  • FORMULA 1 TICKETS
  • Scuderia Fans Italia
  • Home
  • Formula 1 Schedule & Results
  • Formula 1 Driver Standings
  • Formula 1 Constructor Standings

Mika Hakkinen: “To win a title you take risks, we should appreciate Vettel is still prepared to take risks”. The Unibet ambassador comments on Seb's attempt to overtake Verstappen.

Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari

Two-time Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen comments on Scuderia Ferrari’s result at the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix, in his post-race column for Unibet. The former McLaren driver also analyzed Sebastian Vettel‘s attempt to overtake Max Verstappen in the early stages of the race:

“Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari have had a tough time since July, but especially since the summer break. Their attack on the World Championship has faded, and everyone is talking about whether it is Sebastian making too many mistakes, the team making poor decisions, or some problems with the car’s performance.

It will be a little bit of everything. In the same way that you become a winner by paying attention to detail and making a small improvement in lots of areas, the reverse is also true; if you make small errors they quickly add up until it looks like you have a huge problem. I do not think Ferrari has a huge problem, nor do I think Sebastian has forgotten how to win. The team has created a very strong car this year and, together, Sebastian and Kimi Raikkonen have been able to push Mercedes extremely hard for the first half of the season.

There is a lot of talk about Sebastian’s driving mistakes. He has not made many, but when you are fighting for the World Championship every mistake is magnified. In Japan the team made a mistake with their tyre choice in qualifying and, starting 8th on the grid, Sebastian knew that he had to go for it. When he collided with Max Verstappen at Spoon Curve, it ended any chance he had of attacking the Valtteri and Lewis, and it probably ended any hope he had of this year’s World Championship.

Was it a mistake to try and overtake Max? No, it wasn’t. Sebastian knew that he had to push hard, and when you are trying to make up positions early in the race you have to take some chances. There was a real sense of urgency for him to try and get his car into a fighting position with Mercedes, so when he saw a gap to the left of Max’s car, he went for it.

As we know, it didn’t work out. Max tightened his racing line, which he is entitled to do, and the cars touched. If Sebastian had successfully overtaken Max, he would have been a hero, and he might have been able to push Mercedes in the race. It just didn’t work out, but you cannot blame him for trying.

A lot of people ask me about my overtaking manoeuvre on Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2000, when I went to the right of Ricardo Zonta’s BAR at 300kph. It worked out, and I won the race. If Ricardo had moved 50cms to the right we could have crashed, and instead of everyone thinking I was a superstar things might have been very different.

To win a World Championship you take risks, it’s the nature of Formula One. Some you win, some you lose, but it’s only when you stop taking risks that you have a problem. Sebastian has not reached that point yet and we should appreciate the fact that he is still pushing hard and prepared to take risks, even when they don’t work out.”

Oct 12, 2018Scuderia Fans
Let other Scuderia Fans know about us
Arrivabene: "Vettel rallentato da un problema già nel giro di formazione"Pirelli: "Giving teams freedom in their tyre choices could be feasible"
You Might Also Like
 
Sebastian Vettel – second pre-season testing, Day 3 gallery
 
2018 Abu Dhabi GP, Kimi Raikkonen reaction impressions after FP1 and FP2: “A pretty close fight”

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Scuderia Fans
4 months ago NewsMika Hakkinen, Sebastian Vettel321
Buy F1 Tickets

Scuderia Fans shop

#KeepFightingMichael

Partners

Personal Injury Lawyer in Abilene Texas

Live Formula 1 Results

Contribute

Get In Touch With Us
  • Contact us
Categories
Archives
RSS Scuderia Fans RSS feed
  • Injured Ferrari F1 mechanic returns for 2019 season February 17, 2019
    Injured Ferrari F1 mechanic returns for 2019 season The post Injured Ferrari F1 mechanic returns for 2019 season appeared first on Scuderia Fans.
    Scuderia Fans
Let other Scuderia Fans know about us!
RSS
Facebook
Google+
Google+
http://scuderiafans.com/mika-hakkinen-win-title-take-risks-appreciate-vettel-still-prepared-take-risks
Twitter
Visit Us
Follow
2016 © Scuderia Fans
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. If you would like to change your preferences you may do so by following the instructions hereOk