Vettel's defiance and Ferrari's response is good news for Leclerc
Vettel's defiance and Ferrari's response is good news for Leclerc
"I put myself above the decision today." "Sebastian thought f*** you." "When he overtook me I wasn't so much angry as very sad that the team had reached this sorry state."
Sebastian Vettel certainly has a history of ignoring team orders, and while his Russian Grand Prix defiance may not have the wide-reaching consequences of 'Multi 21' but it shows he is not yet ready to give up status inside Ferrari to Charles Leclerc.
Like in Sepang 2013, Vettel opted not to follow the team's wishes when leading the race from his team-mate.
Similarities between the incidents are limited from there, but no less telling of Vettel's intentions.
Vettel taking the lead in Sochi was part of the plan, at least in some way, with the pole-sitting Leclerc having agreed to tow his third-placed team-mate past Lewis Hamilton off the line.
He will have been fully aware that the huge run to Turn 2 could also give Vettel the chance to take the lead, which of course transpired.
Also part of the plan, however, was Vettel giving his place back to Leclerc, although we're talking about a driver whose lawyers served Red Bull with pages of reasoning as to why he should not have been punished for his Malaysia transgression, so when Vettel barked "I would have passed him anyway" over team radio, it was clear something was up.
This was not a place that Vettel would simply hand over, it was made clear that Leclerc would at least have to reach for it, while running in dirty air as Vettel was able to stack up purple laps with nobody in his way.
In doing so, Vettel showed he was ready to fight for his Ferrari future.
A return to the comforts of Red Bull has been mooted for Vettel, as has a switch to Mercedes to bring a German driver into the fold of Germany's team, which has perhaps struggled to nail down that identity since returning to F1.
Vettel taking the fight to Leclerc shouldn't be seen as a last chance to stick one to his team-mate either.
See the 2014 campaign for ho Vettel might be reacting now if he had given up on Ferrari – it clearly hasn't happened.
If Vettel wants to fight to retain his team leader status, what followed might suggest that Ferrari have already taken it from him.
Having tried to put his destiny in his own hands by building a four-second gap to Leclerc, Vettel could only watch on as the second car was called in first and Vettel was kept out.
Mattia Binotto claimed immediately post-race that this was done in case a safety car was called.
So perhaps it is just coincidence that Vettel was kept on-track, on shot tyres, until Leclerc had closed his pit window, at which point Vettel was immediately called in, serviced and sent back out behind his team-mate.
The message was clear. Vettel will have to play by Ferrari's rules.
In 2013, he was Red Bull's golden boy, but now that status sits across from him in the garage, and with good reason.
Leclerc's pole in Russia was his fourth in succession.
Only Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have put together a similar run in the V6 Hybrid era, the previous non-Mercedes driver to do likewise was Vettel in 2011 and a Ferrari driver had not done so since Michael Schumacher in 2001, when Leclerc was three years old.
Leclerc's team radio also suggested he is well-aware of his status, as he spoke to sporting director Laurent Mekies.
"I completely understand. I gave you the slipstream, no problems, but then I tried to push at the beginning of the race. No problems. Manage the situation."
'No problems' was delivered with a tone that suggested there certainly was a problem, as much as can be read into tone when a driver is travelling at 180mph.
This followed the Singapore GP, when Leclerc was chided for his radio transmissions after being undercut accidentally by Vettel.
Perhaps Mattia Binotto ought to issue both Vettel and Leclerc's race engineers with similar brickbats after this race – that the drivers' plan was played out so publicly was farcical, and may well have taken focus away from what was most important – Mercedes' developing strategy behind.
In the end, Vettel's breakdown, and subsequent VSC, took the race even further out of Leclerc's hands, leaving Ferrari with more questions than answers, despite their impressive charge in recent weeks which has put the fear up Mercedes for sure.
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Audi agree STAR driver contract as Mercedes driver tipped for new F1 seat THIS season - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
- Yesterday 22:57
McLaren leading fight for HUGE cash injection
- Yesterday 21:57
Newey set to announce STUNNING Red Bull departure
- Yesterday 17:57
Newey Red Bull exit wish CONFIRMED as F1 guru's reasons revealed
- Yesterday 20:57
F1 legend reveals 'FLOOD' of death threats after controversial decision
- Yesterday 19:57
Related news
Ferrari show off new-look drivers following HUGE announcement
Sky Sports F1 pundit dumbfounded by key Ferrari decision
F1 giants announce name change with IMMEDIATE effect
Ferrari announce HUGE F1 change to iconic red livery
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860