More details of Ferrari’s decision to part ways with Vettel revealed
One of the biggest shocks of silly season was the announcement that 2020 will be Sebastian Vettel’s last season with Ferrari.
During Thursday’s driver press conference, Vettel revealed that there were no talks with Ferrari about his future with the team, and he did not receive an offer from them.
“There was no sticking point,” Vettel said.
“It was obviously a surprise to me when I got the call from Mattia [Binotto, Ferrari Team Principal] when he told me that there was no further intention for the team to continue. We never got into any discussions – there was never an offer on the table and therefore there was no sticking point.”
The original announcement came as a big surprise for many fans, who believed that the German would partner Charles Leclerc for at least another season.
(AP Photo/Darko Bandic)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Vettel is not having any talks with other teams as of yet
Soon after the announcement separating Vettel and Ferrari for the 2021 season, the Scuderia announced that McLaren’s Carlos Sainz would be partnering Leclerc from 2021 onwards.
With Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo confirmed to take Sainz’s seat soon after, all eyes turned to Vettel and fans began theorising where he would end up. He has thus far been linked to Mercedes, Renault, Racing Point or leaving F1 altogether.
In the press conference, Vettel revealed that he has not been talking with any other teams.
“At the moment I’m not really having any [talks],” Vettel commented.
“Looking forward, obviously I want to make sure I make the right decision for myself and my future. I think I have a very competitive nature, I have achieved a lot in the sport.
“I’m motivated and willing to achieve more. To do so I need the right package and the right people around me, so that’s what I’m looking out for at the moment. If the right opportunity should arise then it is quite clear [what I will do]. If that’s not the case then I’ll probably have to look out for something else“.
FW43 could put Williams in a much better position than 2019
Williams’ George Russell believes that the FW43 has been significantly improved in comparison to their 2019 challenger.
Speaking highly of the drivability, the Brit praised the improvements that have been made and is confident the team can do better, based off the cars performance during Barcelona testing back in February.
“I think last year we made some steps but it was a really difficult car to drive, I really [tried to] push it to the limit but it was snapping on me, I was losing the rear and losing confidence,” Russell said.
“Obviously we’ve only done Barcelona so far but it was really pleasant to drive. I think for Nicholas [Latifi] as well it’s going to give us more confidence and hopefully just bring that bit of extra performance.”
(Formula 1)
Life with F1 