Vettel mistakes 'no longer a coincidence', says Brawn

Formula 1 technical chief Ross Brawn reckons that Sebastian Vettel's mistakes in the 2018 drivers' championship are now too common to be considered a "coincidence" and thinks Ferrari have a task on their hands to make the most of the German's obvious talents.

Both Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are on four world championship, but the latter's performances this campaign will likely see him claim his fifth as soon as the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend.

Hamilton has been helped by Vettel's downturn in form, particularly after the summer break, and Brawn believes that the Ferrari driver's errors are too frequent to be labeled as a one-off.

“On Friday there was a small one (mistake), when he failed to slow sufficiently for red flags, and he paid the price with a three-place penalty,” said Brawn.

“Then, in the race, he yet again collided with a Red Bull, this time Ricciardo’s, and once again Vettel came off worst.

“It was another lost opportunity to close the gap in the title fight, especially when we saw what Raikkonen did with the same car.

“I certainly don’t want to put Vettel in the dock, but these incidents can no longer be seen as coincidence. Rather they would seem to indicate that Sebastian is a bit out of sorts at the moment.

Brawn did go on to praise the ability of Vettel overall, but thinks Ferrari have a big task on their hands to allow their driver to get back to his best.

“Now, any hope of bringing the drivers’ title back to Maranello is dwindling and the time has come to do the maths," Brawn continued.

“Their most important task is to work out how to help Vettel make the most of his massive talent.”

MORE: Vettel starting to 'feel the heat' at Ferrari?
MORE: 'Vettel spending more time with Red Bull' while Ferrari hopes fade