Departing Vettel hopes for Ferrari return to form after "difficult year"

Sebastian Vettel has stated his hope that Ferrari can 'get a grip' on its 2021 project despite the German departing the Scuderia for rivals Aston Martin next year.

In his sixth and final year with Ferrari, Vettel scored just 33 points - the lowest total of his Formula 1 career when completing a full-season.

The four-time champion struggled to extract pace from the SF1000 which suffered from a sub-par power unit and early season drag issues.

Vettel will join midfield rivals Aston Martin for the coming campaign but, despite his new allegiances, conceded he hopes to see Ferrari back fighting at the front.

"I hope, because I deeply care about the people that are involved with this team, that they will get back to grips and I hope for Charles [Leclerc] that he gets the car he deserves," said Vettel.

"I hope for people like Laurent [Mekies - sporting director] and the guys that are passionate that things start to come together."

On a personal level, Vettel does not believe the season was a complete waste and pointed to the lessons he learnt during his "difficult year" as something positive to take into the future.

"I think it was a difficult year but I learned a lot in the bigger picture," he added. "Stuff that will help me moving forward and with what comes next.

"I am very excited for what comes next, obviously, I am very sad I am leaving the team but that has been a decision that was made a very long time ago so I take it as a man and have no problems with that."

Looking ahead to starting his life at Aston Martin, the team rebranding from Racing Point, Vettel commented: "I am excited for what comes next for me.

"It is a big new chapter, a new start and time will tell but I think I have learnt, despite the poor results this year, I have learned a lot about myself and about my future path on and off track."

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