Scuderia Ferrari have backed Sebastian Vettel, after the German driver was criticized by the Italian media due to the unfortunate outcome of the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, as the four-time Formula One world champion was not able to capitalize on a strong start and eventually finished the race in fifth place. The 21-year-old Charles Leclerc was on course for his maiden Formula One victory, but engine failure meant he had to slow down, allowing eventual winner Lewis Hamilton as well as his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to pass.
Sebastian Vettel should have been the one passing the Monegasque, but the German had made a mistake with 20 laps left and he finished fifth. The spin, which forced him into an emergency pit stop, was highly criticized by the Italian media and part of the fans as being reminiscent of the mistakes in the second part of last season, yet without remembering the strong first half of the 2018 championship, in which Sebastian overperformed in many moments. Before the start of the current season, Sebastian was touted as the team’s No. 1 driver, understandably with four world titles to his name, compared with Charles Leclerc, who is starting only his second season.
But there was also talk about when, not if, the former Sauber racer would bring the fight to Vettel. For now, Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto is standing by the 31-year-old, who finished fourth in the season-opener in Australia, one place ahead of Charles.
He said: “With regard to Sebastian, these things can happen in racing when you are on the limit, therefore it’s more important to consider the car, which performed well. Clearly, there are still various things that we have to learn and we will continue to work on them.”
Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel will be back in action behind the wheel of the SF90 on Wednesday, at the second day of testing in Bahrain.
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