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Vettel's 'attitude' disappoints Bernie

LONDON, England - Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has criticised four-times Drivers’ champion Sebastian Vettel because of the way the driver reacted to failure in 2014.

Vettel, driving for Red Bull through 2014 and previous years, has left that team to drive for Ferrari after completing the season without a win after four consecutive titles.

Red Bull started the season on the back foot with an uncompetitive and unreliable Renault V6 turbo-hybrid ‘power unit’ but Vettel's new Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo still won three races.

'SUPER SUPPORTER'

Ecclestone, now 84, wrote in the foreword to the official Formula 1 season review: “I'm a super supporter of Sebastian but I'm a little bit disappointed by his attitude, which I think has changed.

"He's acting like a defeated guy and he isn't - that's not his mentality.”

Ecclestone and Vettel are close and Ecclestone said he would be happy to see the 27-year-old move to Maranello, Ferrari’s Italian HQ, after all his success with Red Bull.

Ferrari is going through considerable change, is on its third team principal of the year, and is under pressure to perform after a dismal season in which it also failed to win a race for the first time since 1993.

"Ferrari was very disappointing, getting lost somewhere," Ecclestone said. "Fernando (Alonso) got a little bit like Sebastian halfway through, so I'm a little disappointed by him, too."

'COULD HAVE BEEN LOUSY'

Alonso has made way for Vettel and is now expected to join McLaren, which has not won a race since 2012.

Mercedes won both 2014 titles; Lewis Hamilton took his second Driver's championship but Ecclestone said the sport had been lucky that the team had allowed him and team mate Nico Rosberg to race each other.

"It's good that Mercedes allowed them to do that," he said. "If not, we would have had a really lousy championship."

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