I'll be the judge of my Ferrari failure not fans - Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has pointed an accusing finger at himself for his ultimate failure to succeed at Ferrari rather than succumbing to any outside pressure.

Vettel, who will race for Aston Martin this season after being released by Ferrari at the end of last year, scored 14 wins for the Scuderia across six years.

The German, however, managed only one of those wins in his final two seasons, while his final campaign last year was the worst of his Formula 1 career.

Asked whether the pressure to perform eventually took its toll on him, particularly after missing out on the title in both 2017 and 2018 when Ferrari had arguably the strongest car, Vettel answered: "I don’t know if I buy into this pressure thing.

"I think you put pressure on yourself. I had a clear mission and target to win.

"I think the pressure in Italy, the fans, and so on, yes it is there, but ultimately, I always set the highest expectations on myself and I think I was the first and best judge if I didn’t achieve them."

When critics reflect on Vettel's time with Ferrari, they point to his crash while leading in the 2018 German Grand Prix as the pivotal moment after which his time with the team spiralled downwards.

The 33-year-old, however, naturally disagrees. "Rest assured, when I put the car in the gravel in Germany I wasn’t happy before they weren’t happy," added Vettel.

"So, that’s why I am definitely not holding that as an excuse for coming up short here and there.

"I think if you are ambitious to win and you have the target to win and succeed then you are the first one to realise that yourself, and so it isn’t depending on the pressure from outside."

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