Felipe Massa would not "be surprised" if Sebastian Vettel "decided to just stop"

Sebastian Vettel

Massa would not "be surprised" if Vettel "decided to just stop"

Vettel-Ferrari split was not a shock to Massa

Sam Hall

Wednesday 27 May 2020 13:42 Updated: 13:50

Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is not surprised Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari are parting ways at the end of the Formula 1 season.

The 2019 campaign saw Charles Leclerc go from Ferrari number two driver to being the poster boy for future championship success.

Conversely, continued errors saw Vettel's stock fall, leaving Massa far from shocked that both driver and team decided to bring their six-year partnership to an end.

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“Surprised? No,” Massa told the Sky Sports F1 Vodcast. “You have a time, and definitely Sebastian is a driver that I really respect. For everything that he did in his career.

"Many championships that he managed to achieve, and many victories, and also for Ferrari, I would say, in my opinion, he did a very, very good job for Ferrari. Winning many races and even fighting for championships.

“It is also true that he never had the car to win the championship. It was close, but not the quickest car as well.

“It is not a surprise. To stay in the team, he needs to be 100% sure that he wants to stay, but the team as well, so he just arrives in a moment that they are just trying to have different directions.”

Speculation continues to link Vettel with moves to both Renault and Mercedes, while another train of thought is that Vettel may decide to walk away from F1 altogether.

“If he will stay in Formula 1 or not is another question," continued Massa, who spent eight seasons with Ferrari from 2006-2013.

"I think Sebastian is a driver that is always very focussed on what he wants, and I would not even be surprised if he decided to just stop.

“So I think definitely, in his position, to stay, he needs to find the team that gives to him the opportunity or maybe the talks or maybe the ideas that he’s sure that it’s maybe good to stay.”

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