2018 Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

[munudeges]

I'm not suggesting Raikkonen is as quick as Vettel, this is patently false. Raikkonen's points trajectory is a reference for how much the car has improved.

Given that Vettel is supposedly Ferrari's number one driver and that is where the attention in the team clearly goes there is enough now to question that assertion, as well as his complete crumbling in the face of Hamilton. One of the various analyses Ferrari will have looked at is what they think would have happened if they had got behind Raikkonen in a title challenge. It might have been why they have been so strangely cagey about openly admitting the status within the team. Other teams will also be asking that question. With the data available there isn't really any hiding places.

Vettel's reputation has certainly taken a hit this year, and it's doubtful it will recover. Vettel has also had a much more subdued demeanour in recent months. What happens with Leclerc next year will be really interesting. I actually agreed with Villeneuve that Vettel would politically try and destroy him, but I don't think Vettel holds that kind of sway in the team any more.

[dans79]

So what "other things" do people think Vettel is refering to?

https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/21/vet ... tle-fight/

ettel admitted his difficulties in recent races went beyond the race track. “For many reasons, results and racing is part of the game but there are other things that have maybe been a bit different to the past but nothing that I think we can’t overcome.”

Aero updates not working, Internal power struggle, Kimi leaving for a junior driver who will be a lot less compliant, all of the above?

[f1universe]

So what "other things" do people think Vettel is refering to?

https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/21/vet ... tle-fight/

ettel admitted his difficulties in recent races went beyond the race track. “For many reasons, results and racing is part of the game but there are other things that have maybe been a bit different to the past but nothing that I think we can’t overcome.”

Aero updates not working, Internal power struggle, Kimi leaving for a junior driver who will be a lot less compliant, all of the above?

It seems he is having personal problems, if he is talking about something inside the team, clearly the problem is things are not going his way, like getting rid of Kimi and so on.

[timbo]

It's a pity that Vettel has literally lost control 4 times in 8 races.

I would always cut some slack for the driver. IMO the big problem is whom they are racing. Merc was untouchable for 3 years and barely in the reach last year. This year Ferrari has a much faster car than ever before, but going into the season it didn't look that, many people placed Ferrari 3rd behind RedBull. Their win in Australia was due to a wrong strategy call by Mercedes, Bahrain was strong but then China was lost by poor strategy and luck. Azerbaijan was a first clear mistake Vettel made, but he did so after losing a lead due to strategy/bad luck (free pitstop for Bottas after RedBulls crashed). In Spain Ferrari was behind Mercedes, Monaco was better but they lost to RedBull. Canada was strong but then in France they clearly behind Merc.
What I want to say is that psychologically Mercedes is in a more comfortable position. They know they had the best car last several years, they know they have a strong car this year.
I would also guess that Ferrari may not have a full understanding of the car to predict in which GPs they would be strong and in which they wouldn't. This makes planning for the races much harder.
Next, there were some questionable strategy calls and mistakes from the team itself.
Again, the overtaking is very hard this season. It puts much more pressure for the drivers to gain as much in the early laps as possible.
With all that the situation is not like going into the race and thinking "I can play safe and wait for my day". The day may never come when you don't understand your car very well. So instead it's "I should try and go for it" on every occasion.

[tpeman]

Contrary to popular beliefs, I think if the 2019 car is good enough Seb will win the title and then retire. I can see the similarities in how Rosberg's 2015 and Vettel's 2018 (up until now) seasons went. In my view, Sebastian's current struggles aren't a result of lack of driving skill, but more of the immense pressure put on him. I know it may sound absurd today, but I still believe that Vettel is the only current driver on the grid that can beat Hamilton. As some stated above, the pressure on Mercedes and Hamilton is way less. People are actually waiting for someone to defeat them, rather than waiting for them to win (I think this is a huge factor).

[Juzh]

So what "other things" do people think Vettel is refering to?

https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/21/vet ... tle-fight/

ettel admitted his difficulties in recent races went beyond the race track. “For many reasons, results and racing is part of the game but there are other things that have maybe been a bit different to the past but nothing that I think we can’t overcome.”

Aero updates not working, Internal power struggle, Kimi leaving for a junior driver who will be a lot less compliant, all of the above?

It seems he is having personal problems, if he is talking about something inside the team, clearly the problem is things are not going his way, like getting rid of Kimi and so on.

Obviously something is very wrong in the team when they remove a ----ton of "upgrades" and the car is suddenly miles faster.

[timbo]

Obviously something is very wrong in the team when they remove a ----ton of "upgrades" and the car is suddenly miles faster.

Makes you wonder.

I guess getting the car right is even more a game of fine details than ever before.
I think the updates should have worked at least to some extent, otherwise, the team would drop them after practices.
Maybe the updates upset the balance of the car, especially on the low fuel loads?
The only real unknown in the GP is the Q2-Q3 performance.

[f1316]

So what "other things" do people think Vettel is refering to?

https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/21/vet ... tle-fight/

ettel admitted his difficulties in recent races went beyond the race track. “For many reasons, results and racing is part of the game but there are other things that have maybe been a bit different to the past but nothing that I think we can’t overcome.”

Aero updates not working, Internal power struggle, Kimi leaving for a junior driver who will be a lot less compliant, all of the above?

I think the team suffered more than people realise with Marchionne’s death; whatever people may think, it’s indisputable that the formula 1 team completely turned around under his watch and I suspect he was more involved in the day to day than people think.

I’m not suggesting for one second that it had anything to do with upgrades not working, but I think he was a team leader and a figurehead, to the extent that Arrivabene didn’t really lead the formula 1 team to the extent that most team principals do.

[Redragon]

They might have suffered by Marchionne's death but Raikonnen won yesterday when he is clear the second driver of the team and he is out next year. The car was good enough to win as he demostrated. So it is Vettel own doing the situation he is at the moment, no one else to blame for.

[LM10]

So what "other things" do people think Vettel is refering to?

https://www.racefans.net/2018/10/21/vet ... tle-fight/


Aero updates not working, Internal power struggle, Kimi leaving for a junior driver who will be a lot less compliant, all of the above?

It seems he is having personal problems, if he is talking about something inside the team, clearly the problem is things are not going his way, like getting rid of Kimi and so on.

Obviously something is very wrong in the team when they remove a ----ton of "upgrades" and the car is suddenly miles faster.

If the reports are true, then Ferrari removed the updates to such extend that the car was at it's Spa or Hockenheim spec.
Whereas it's a catastrophic thing to think that tons and months of hard work to get the upgrades done seemed to have been lost, it's amazing to witness that the car in it's outdated specification was at least as fast as the Mercedes in Austin. It's a kind of a relief to see that the SF71H has a very good basis already. So this mitigates the wrongdoing in terms of upgrades a bit. At the end, any mistake is the most effective way of learning.

Having said that, I agree with the posts above that the sudden death of Marchionne has surely affected the team in a horrible way. Obviously it might not be easy to replace such a powerful and professional personality, yet alone in such a short period of time.

[JPBD1990]

I saw a post on Instagram that claimed Allison is moving to Renault from Mercedes, and they have their eye on Binotto.

Ferrari need to throw everything they have at Binotto to keep him. He has clearly been instrumental in their resurgence, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve seen innovation coming out of maranello for the first time since at least 2014 (arguably 2008). We need this man! Give him money, give him power, give him creative freedoms - whatever he needs.

If Binotto leaves, my current feeling of optimism with Ferrari will fade to about mid-season 2009 levels.

[Morteza]

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/1054502977145323520

[M840TR]

This might just be Vettel's worst year in F1. I know it's hard dealing with pressure and politics but I guess that's what separates all time greats like Schumacher and Alonso from the rest. To say that potential title-winning cars are rare to come by is a painful understatement.

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

I know it's hard dealing with pressure and politics but I guess that's what separates all time greats like Schumacher and Alonso from the rest.

This current Ferrari leadership, while good, aren't in the same league as the Schumacher-era. Marchionne was an immense figurehead and really kept the team in shape but it's too convenient to link losing him to the downward spiral the team fell into this season.

I think expectation has played a big part; on the run up to Monza the consensus in Italy (fuelled by partisan media!) was Ferrari were destined to top qualifying and waltz to a 1-2 finish in the race. Not arrogance, not even confidence, just a blind belief that this car was too good not to win the race and eventually the championship. It's hard for that sentiment not to leak in to the team. I was really troubled by this at the time.

Complacency is dangerous and I think the realisation they weren't as invincible as they were led to believe hurt them.

[adrianjordan]

if they want a championship before these regulations change in 2021. only option is alonso else hamilton will be 7 time world champion.

I don't know. Ricciardo would probably be a safe pair of hands...