The failed mission
Signed by Ferrari for the 2015 season, after winning four consecutive World Championships with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, Sebastian Vettel arrived in Maranello with the goal of becoming the next world champion with the Scuderia, following Kimi Raikkonen’s success and Fernando Alonso’s near-misses. However, the German driver was unable to add his name to Ferrari’s F1 legacy, even though he finished twice as runner-up in 2017 and 2018, behind Lewis Hamilton’s dominant Mercedes.
The subsequent decline
These results gave hope for 2019, the year when Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc joined Vettel at Ferrari. Yet, contrary to expectations, Charles Leclerc quickly established himself as the stronger teammate, outperforming Sebastian Vettel even more clearly in 2020 (98 points versus Vettel’s 33), a year marked by Ferrari’s crisis with the SF1000. This season would be Sebastian Vettel’s last with the team, before he moved to Aston Martin: “I entered Formula 1 in 2007, and I’d say that by 2010, especially with the World Championship win, I was at my peak,” Sebastian Vettel told Beyond the Grid. “Then in 2011, I felt even more ready to fight for the championship compared to 2010, and there were several strong years. By 2020, though, I was already in decline, and I’m glad I can say it now, because I didn’t really have that final, decisive push left in me.” – the German driver pointed out.
The relationship with Leclerc
The first signs of struggle at Ferrari appeared in 2019, when Charles Leclerc’s strong performances in the SF-90 had a significant psychological impact on the former Red Bull driver. These difficulties intensified in 2020, during a season heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic: “Charles had so much energy,” Sebastian Vettel continued. “To be honest, I was spoiled. I had won four championships, many races, and secured plenty of pole positions. The only thing I cared about was winning, and that’s the kind of athlete I was. I wanted to win, I wanted the biggest trophy, I wanted that moment on the podium when I knew I had won the race, I wanted the Monday morning feeling of saying ‘I won the last race and I feel amazing,’ but that feeling never lasts long enough. Then Charles arrived, and when we were finishing fifth and sixth, he was over the moon for a fifth or sixth place, because it was a different stage of his career and his first time in a competitive car. I think that’s when I started to struggle a bit. In 2020, a really strange year with Covid, I had the opportunity to take a break and enjoy time with my family. At the same time, I started to notice my children growing up and the problems in our world. I think that’s when I passed my peak.”
Sebastian Vettel’s admission provides a rare, honest look into the mindset of a champion who realized his priorities were shifting. While Charles Leclerc represented the future energy of Maranello, Vettel was beginning to look toward a life beyond the cockpit, marking the end of one of the most high-profile partnerships in Ferrari’s modern history. His legacy remains that of a driver who gave his all to bring the title back to Italy, even if the “decisive drive” eventually faded under the weight of a changing world and a rising young star.
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