The season too much. Not knowing how to stop in time. Decrepitude. One of the obsessions of top athletes. Since the start of the season in Austria on July 3, Sebastian Vettel has been immersed in it. To the neck. And without any real prospect of being able to get out of it, even if the last Grand Prix, in Spain, saw him be elected “Driver of the day” by Internet users on the official Formula 1 website. A plebiscite rewarding his… 7th place in the outcome of the race. An almost bitter-tasting reward, therefore, for a driver who usually got it after a victory, or at worst a podium. But this season, the podiums, Vettel looks at them from afar, like an ordinary spectator.
Hamilton in support of his rival
With 16 points on the clock and an anonymous 11th place in the World Championship, he drags his spleen in the paddock. Even to the point of triggering an empathetic feeling among his former rivals. Starting with Lewis Hamilton who declared a week ago, after the quadruple world champion's 12th place in the 70th anniversary Grand Prix held at Silverstone on August 7: “I saw the difficult race he had at Silverstone, and all I can do is try to empathize with the situation he's in, try to figure it out. It's never nice to hear yourself say by a team that they don't want to continue with you, especially when you joined that team, that you gave them your all, that you put your heart into it. But I think the efforts he makes and the way he continues to help the team shows the strength of his character as well as his investment in competition. I hope that something really positive will come out of it so that he can move forward. ”
“Seb is passionate about this discipline, he loves it. He is someone who will analyze everything in order to find a way to improve or an answer to a question. ”
Daniel RicciardoIn a world as competitive as F1 is, receiving encouragement from a competitor is never a very good sign. So when these multiply, it's bound to be a sign that you've hit rock bottom. Even if some encouragement should, all the same, warm her heart. Like those of his former teammate at Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo, who recently said about him: “Seb is passionate about this discipline, he adores it. He is someone who will analyze everything in order to find a way to improve or an answer to a question. I don't think he's the type to just run away from a problem. I think he even attaches great importance to it, whether out of pure love of sport or out of pride. So I expect it to bounce back. That's what I expect from him anyway. " An opinion shared by another of his former partners, Kimi Raikkönen: "I'm sure he's not very happy with the way things are going, but that's the way it is and I doubt it will have an impact. about the work he's doing there. I think he's been in the business long enough to know that sometimes it is, and to find a way to turn it around. ”
Officially, Vettel still believes in Ferrari
The main person, he refuses to speak of "frustration", even if he recognizes that it is not his "best start to the season". A pleonasm that looks like a wooden tongue. "It will be difficult this year with the package that we have, but I believe that Charles has proved that we can still do good races", he analyzes before denying the rumors indicating, in Italy, of a relationship more than tense between him and the Scuderia. “Whatever the situation, I have total confidence in the people around me and those who work on my car. I lack confidence, which stems from a grip issue, so it's not just that I don't feel comfortable driving the car. We're still trying to figure out where exactly it came from, but at the same time, we have to move forward and move forward. " With the hope for the German to find a little smile. Starting this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, for the Belgian Grand Prix?
Read also
- Formula 1 returns to Spa with the memory of Anthoine Hubert