Sebastian Vettel dismisses mental weakness after latest error

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel dismisses mental weakness after latest error

What's Seb's problem?

Matthew Scott

Thursday 19 September 2019 14:00

Sebastian Vettel dismissed the notion of having developed a mental weakness after his error-strewn form continued in Italy last time out.

Vettel has gone more than a year since his last grand prix win, with his performances put into sharp contrast by teammate Charles Leclerc winning in Belgium and Italy.

The German dropped out of contention in Monza after spinning at the Ascari Chicane, and then clipping Lance Stroll when re-joining the track, going onto finish 13th as Leclerc ended Ferrari's nine-year wait for a home win.

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Last year's title fight fizzled out as Vettel made errors in Germany, Italy, Japan and USA and he has made similar misjudgements this year, something former F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya recently put down to a struggle to get to grips with the technical requirements of driving Ferrari's current car.

"I don't think it's mental," Vettel told reporters.

"It's not that I'm in the wrong place. I think I'm doing the right things so that's why I think it's crucial not to complicate things too much.

"Here and there I might not have the absolute trust in the car and the best feeling yet, but I think it's improving, my understanding of the car, and then it's a question of lining up the details.

"But I'm sure that things will click and start to fall into place, so we need to keep our heads down. There's always things we can do better and that I can do better and work on, so we will see how the next races go."

Dismissing the current rut as the worst part of his career, Vettel is certain that the error in Monza is not indicative of a wider issue.

He said: "I don't compare it, I take it as what it is and it's obviously not great but ultimately it's not a disaster.

"I think in the race weekend the race is the peak and the highlight, one moment can change the whole race and in that case it did.

"Obviously I was the first one to admit the mistake after the race and was very clear. Unfortunately, these things are part of us and part of racing."