Schumacher: Ferrari will drop Vettel this year if Leclerc remains ahead

Ralf Schumacher believes Sebastian Vettel will be turfed out of Ferrari if he does not significantly improve his performances over the closing weeks of the 2019 season.

Vettel has gone more than a year without a grand prix victory and his long-standing run of on-track errors continued in Monza last time out as he spun out of fourth place and made contact with lance Stroll in a clumsy attempt to re-join the track.

To make matters worse for Vettel, his team-mate Charles Leclerc secured an emotional win for Ferrari, the Scuderia's first race triumph on home soil in nine years. Vettel finished 13th and outside of the points.

Rumours have begun to circulate that Vettel's days in the red team may be numbered, despite his contract running to the end of next year, and Schumacher believes that his compatriot must step up his performances to save his seat for 2020.

"Such a race as Sebastian Vettel experienced in Monza is, of course, the worst thing that can happen to a racing driver," Schumacher wrote for Sky.

"I suspect that he was downgraded to number two. That could be taken from one or two statements from Ferrari.

"On the one hand, he has to become a bit more accessible to the public. For example, he can give an honest interview so that everyone understands how he is.

"On the other hand, he urgently needs to improve his error rate. In Monza, he has once again made a big mistake. Of course, that should not happen.

"If this continues, I would not be so sure that Ferrari keeps him. He now has to dominate his team-mate Charles Leclerc for the remainder of the season. If he cannot do that, I believe he will be gone."

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