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• Sebastian Vettel's poor performances are spiraling out of control.
• Ferrari is in one of its worst shapes, yet.
• Vettel is out of contract at the end of 2020.
• For more motoring stories, go to www.Wheels24.co.za
The relationship between Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel seems to be going from bad to worse.
A recent spate of bad results saw the German driver fall from his Ferrari throne to a 'second rate' driver that's getting the worst from those involved with Formula 1, regardless their shape or form.
But for Vettel, the poor results are beginning to take a toll on his psyche; at least from where we're sitting. Ferrari's quadruple champion is not meeting on-track goals and is being overshadowed by his younger, less experienced, team mate, Charles Leclerc.
Sebastian Vettel (Mark Sutton / Getty Images)
A bad 2020
Covid-19 aside, Vettel's 2020 did not get off to the best of starts. During the time that the sport went into lockdown, he and Ferrari announced that their paths would separate after this year. This came just months after Ferrari signed Leclerc to a new five-year deal in December 2019.
For Vettel, though, 2020 is spiralling out of control, and he has little control over it. So much so, sadly, that it seems as if Ferrari is deliberately sabotaging him during race weekends. In Austria, the opening race of the season, Vettel finished the race in tenth place to Leclerc's third. At the next race, the two Ferrari drivers took each other out at the start of the race.
READ: Is there a bigger plan behind Vettel’s rumoured Racing Point move?
A sixth-place in Hungary and another tenth in Great Britain would follow, but at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, also held at Silverstone in Great Britain, Vettel would only muster a 12th-place finish. In the championship standings, Vettel is in 13th place on ten points. Ten! Leclerc has 45 points in is fourth in the championship.
This was not how Vettel imagined his 2020 to go, and his current position in the championship is far from what he's become accustomed to.
Sebastian Vettel spinning after the start of 2020 British GP (Andrew Boyers / Getty Images)
What's next
It's hard to imagine Vettel not making a podium appearance this year, but it might just be the first time since joining F1 full-time (in 2008) that it won't happen. Ferrari's 2020 car is a dog, and both drivers are finding it difficult to extract the maximum out of it. Insufficient power aside, there is no cure for Ferrari's misfortunes and the team will continue with their poor showing throughout 2021.
For Vettel, the future is still unknown, as he is yet to decide on his plans for next year. Rumours of him joining Aston Martin next year are circling - competing under the Racing Point name in 2020 - but even that is not confirmed. Whichever way it plays out, Vettel will remember 2020 as the worst in his F1 career.
And as far as his six-year sojourn at Ferrari is concerned, this is the worst possible ending to what was supposed to be one of the greatest partnerships in the sport's history.
