Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to find the same sort of success at Ferrari compared to Red Bull days and this was largely a result of his own doing, according to former F1 driver Theirry Boutsen.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton was at the top of his game and the Silver Arrows themselves were enjoying a fantastic period in motorsport.
Vettel tried his best at Ferrari, but was just unable to cause Hamilton enough discomfort at Mercedes.
Former Benetton driver Boutsen believes that this was due to a number of errors committed by Vettel and criticised his ‘driving decisions’.
Boutsen explained that two titles were well within Vettel’s reach and had he not made some silly mistakes, things could have panned out very differently for him.
He went on to add that these were the sort of errors that Vettel never made at Red Bull.
“Vettel was, perhaps, simply not cut out for this kind of team,” Boutsen said.
“He failed to manage the situation.”
Boutsen further spoke about the emergence of Charles Leclerc at Ferrari and how it led to the real downfall of Vettel, who was never able to match the speed of the Monegasque driver despite being far more experienced.
“Since Leclerc’s arrival at Ferrari, Vettel has almost never been faster than Charles in practice or in the race,” Boutsen said.
“Barring special circumstances, Leclerc has always been ahead of Vettel and by a big margin.
“From his first race in red, Charles was faster than Sebastian. Vettel is, most certainly, affected morally. Every Grand Prix he takes a slap in the face!”
Vettel defends Ferrari stint
Vettel, meanwhile, defended his stint at Ferrari, claiming that Mercedes was always one step ahead of them.
He explained how it no longer bothers him, claiming that he is “at peace” with this fact now.
“Ultimately, Lewis [Hamilton] and Mercedes as a package were too strong for us and we didn’t beat them. But the more time passes, the more I’m [at] peace with it, if that makes sense,” Vettel said.
“Just because, living through the moment, I know that we’ve done great things.
“I know that we’ve done things also that weren’t great. And, in the end, like I said, there was somebody else out there that was just better at that time and deserved to win, so we came second a couple of times.
“But [I have] no regrets and [there were] lots of things that I learned. I wouldn’t go back and change anything.”
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