[Jody Barton]

Mick is possibly quick enough, possibly. His links to his father absolutely HAVE given him opportunities he wouldn't otherwise have got. Thing is? So far I think he's taken them. Don't think he's near the very top of the young crop coming through though, those are my honest thoughts. So, if it is purely down to talent I don't expect to see Mick in F1. As it isn't purely down to talent, I expect to see him somewhere between 2 to 3 years. Possibly at Alfa Romeo Sauber.

[Jody Barton]

So going back to the Seb / Ferrari thing, do we think it is broken beyond repair now? Something clearly is not right there, it was clearly on display this weekend in Singapore. Not sure who lost faith in who first, maybe Seb after last seasons blunders... maybe Ferrari frustrated with an impetuous driver willing to ram an opponent in a peak of rage, unable to control Seb and turn him into the controlled machine they needed. If as expected Lewis goes on to win a 5th WDC I'm not sure the relationship is repairable.

[morini]

So going back to the Seb / Ferrari thing, do we think it is broken beyond repair now? Something clearly is not right there, it was clearly on display this weekend in Singapore. Not sure who lost faith in who first, maybe Seb after last seasons blunders... maybe Ferrari frustrated with an impetuous driver willing to ram an opponent in a peak of rage, unable to control Seb and turn him into the controlled machine they needed. If as expected Lewis goes on to win a 5th WDC I'm not sure the relationship is repairable.

I can see why the Ferrari team might be rather disappointed in Sebastian. Not just for his driving, but for the way he's been trying to manage the pit lane whilst in the car and for the blatent criticism of the team when out of it. Vettel is appearing as rattled and Arivebene seems more than a little irk'd by the way he's handling it.

Hamilton seems to trust his team implicitly, Vettel (on the other hand) does not. We all know this is a team sport. Vettel needs to mend some relationships fast if he wants to keep this title fight alive. He's not going to win it by alienating his team.

[Jody Barton]

I think he needs to mend relationships rapidly. He knows he's at Ferrari for two years, yeah sure, rumours are he threw a tantrum and suggested he wanted out if Ferrari early. Just not sure where he'd go. There's nowhere for him. If he does rebuild some of the bridges he's building soon he's going to find the next two years very, very long.

[LotusLover]

So going back to the Seb / Ferrari thing, do we think it is broken beyond repair now? Something clearly is not right there, it was clearly on display this weekend in Singapore. Not sure who lost faith in who first, maybe Seb after last seasons blunders... maybe Ferrari frustrated with an impetuous driver willing to ram an opponent in a peak of rage, unable to control Seb and turn him into the controlled machine they needed. If as expected Lewis goes on to win a 5th WDC I'm not sure the relationship is repairable.

I can see why the Ferrari team might be rather disappointed in Sebastian. Not just for his driving, but for the way he's been trying to manage the pit lane whilst in the car and for the blatent criticism of the team when out of it. Vettel is appearing as rattled and Arivebene seems more than a little irk'd by the way he's handling it.

Hamilton seems to trust his team implicitly, Vettel (on the other hand) does not. We all know this is a team sport. Vettel needs to mend some relationships fast if he wants to keep this title fight alive. He's not going to win it by alienating his team

For me it is simply "pressure" and the fact he is probably resigned to losing the championship, he is having a pop at the decisions, i cannot blame him on this occasion and a few others, he owns up to his issues quite publicly and sometimes Ferrari are not great on stategy (understatement actually) i've heard Lewis do it in the past, i would say quite a few do it, look at Alonso he is renown for it, whether it is peeing off Arrivabenne well that is another matter, surely they expect it?

[A10Tankbuster]

So going back to the Seb / Ferrari thing, do we think it is broken beyond repair now? Something clearly is not right there, it was clearly on display this weekend in Singapore. Not sure who lost faith in who first, maybe Seb after last seasons blunders... maybe Ferrari frustrated with an impetuous driver willing to ram an opponent in a peak of rage, unable to control Seb and turn him into the controlled machine they needed. If as expected Lewis goes on to win a 5th WDC I'm not sure the relationship is repairable.

I can see why the Ferrari team might be rather disappointed in Sebastian. Not just for his driving, but for the way he's been trying to manage the pit lane whilst in the car and for the blatent criticism of the team when out of it. Vettel is appearing as rattled and Arivebene seems more than a little irk'd by the way he's handling it.

Hamilton seems to trust his team implicitly, Vettel (on the other hand) does not. We all know this is a team sport. Vettel needs to mend some relationships fast if he wants to keep this title fight alive. He's not going to win it by alienating his team

For me it is simply "pressure" and the fact he is probably resigned to losing the championship, he is having a pop at the decisions, i cannot blame him on this occasion and a few others, he owns up to his issues quite publicly and sometimes Ferrari are not great on stategy (understatement actually) i've heard Lewis do it in the past, i would say quite a few do it, look at Alonso he is renown for it, whether it is peeing off Arrivabenne well that is another matter, surely they expect it?

I think the pressure is coming from himself, not the team because as we have heard others like Brundle state:
He's trying to help run the team from the car during the race.
The people on the pit wall should be able to see the same as Vettel.
If they cant then there is something wrong with the pit wall line up.
Remove that pressue, allow Vettel to do the car set up and driving with a lot less from hin during the race and we would see a different Vettel.

[Jody Barton]

A10Tankbuster I've said this multiple times in multiple places this week so far, but up until Germany it was actually Mercedes making the more pitwall errors. I mean Seb was grumbling in Australia about Ferrari's decision to keep him out as long as they did. He complained about their calls in Bahrain that were spot on too. Seb was questioning from the get go. He had demanded they changed some of the pitwall after last seasons issues, it didn't happen. They made procedural changes and brought in QA experts, and we've certainly seen a step forward this season in that area. No silly sparkplug failures, no mistakes in prep.

Vettel isn't comfortable in Ferrari. I think it has been obvious from the get go. At Red Bull he was the center of attention, he was absolutely pampered, Ferrari is Ferrari, and I think they expect their drivers to drive. I'm not sure who needs to change for whom. Maybe there is a weakness on the Ferrari pitwall, but there choices haven't been that bonkers. The first potential error was Austria, not switching the two cars round, but was it a mistake? Also not warning him more firmly that Sainz was about to start a flier, but he shouldn't have been ambling around the first corner like he was any way.

Germany? Not switching the cars sooner? Maybe, but Seb wasn't exactly miles quicker, and Ferrari want the WCC it seems more. That's their focus, has been since 2015 when they made it clear that was their first target. So for them it's always about maximising the teams score, the WDC comes second. I really believe that, and I think Seb knows it. Ferrari believe if they deliver a WCC winning car, then a top driver should be able to get the WDC done themselves.

But you look at who started making mistakes first, it's Seb. Baku. Followed by France. It was Seb who started screwing things up. Maybe because he doesn't feel he has the support he needs, but maybe because of these and other errors in the previous season Ferrari just don't have the belief in him any more. In Germany I think we saw Seb pushing to try and match Lewis' blistering pace in the wet. Lewis was almost 2 seconds a lap quicker at that point and closing at a ferocious rate, Vettel screwed up trying to match that pace. He couldn't handle that pressure, or couldn't take the humiliation of letting Lewis overtake him, and live to fight another day.

Monza was another example of Vettel just not being the sole focus of Ferrari, and him snapping under pressure, and trying to get everything done straight away. So many time Seb has tried to get races won in the first corner or first lap. That's also on Seb. For me if Seb doesn't win the WDC this year it'll be his fault, I do not think it'll be Ferrari's, they've given him the tools. Either Seb accepts this is just how it is, or maybe Ferrari just need to give Seb what he needs. Either way the Seb / Ferrari thing just isn't working right now.

[morini]

@Jody, that is a great sum up. I'm in complete agreement with that post.

[PapaofGags]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/articles/2688/...-hamilton/

Sebastian Vettel's tendency to make "stupid mistakes" when he is not leading a race will come back to haunt him in his title fight with Lewis Hamilton. That is the view of Adrian Newey, the man responsible for designing Vettel's championship-winning Red Bull cars.

Vettel has spilled points with on-track mistakes in Azerbaijan, Austria, France, Germany and Italy, while the Singapore Grand Prix did not pass without incident.
The German hit the wall in FP2, losing crucial track time, and Ferrari's strategy then cost him even further as he finished third, allowing race winner Hamilton to open up a 40-point lead.

Vettel has said he must now win all six remaining races if he is to overhaul Hamilton, but Newey is concerned that the pressure may come to haunt his former charge.

"He works incredibly hard and is sometimes too dogged – hardly anyone is more self-critical than he is," Newey told Bild am Sonntag of Vettel.

"If he has a weakness, then it’s that sometimes he makes stupid mistakes that happen in the heat of the moment.

"If he leads a race, he is almost unbeatable. But in direct duels he sometimes slips up.

"In sports, but also in life, people deal differently with pressure. For a racing driver this can be particularly difficult. In the car, he is not only responsible for himself, but he has the entire team in the garage on his shoulders.

"Some drivers do not care; take the Finns Kimi Raikkonen and Mika Hakkinen, for example.

But then there are also drivers who, just at the end of a season, when it comes to the world championship, feel the pressure weighing down on them. The harder a driver works, the more he feels the pressure.

"If he’s going to manage it, he needs at least one retirement from Lewis. Otherwise it will be damn hard."

[Jody Barton]

Difficult to disagree with Newey either. Lewis just has to get his nose in front, or challenge him and he's prone to errors. If he's not in front just sit in second and wait for his moment and be patient. If Lewis wins either of the next two races, and takes second in the other I think it's over.