Autosport - 5 March 2015 | Page 38

WorldMags.net SEASON 38 PREVIEW S BLOXHAM/LAT Schumacher was an influence on Vettel’s Ferrari move the same: a great champion joins a struggling team. But what happens now for Vettel? Interestingly, Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene revealed during the first Barcelona pre-season test that Schumacher had, indirectly, played a role in Vettel’s decision to head to Ferrari. While Schumacher remains in the fight of his life following his skiing accident, long-time manager Sabine Kehm was consulted by Vettel. “He was asking about Ferrari and Sabine said the atmosphere she found at the time of Michael was that of a great team, like family,” said Arrivabene. “Seb was listening and said OK. The phone call made the difference. Without that phone call, Sebastian may not have come. This is the truth.” That may or may not be true, because the bottom line is that Vettel needed a change. After four years of supremacy, his 2014 season was underwhelming. Having adapted brilliantly to the counter-intuitive driving style demands of the exhaust-blown-downforce Red Bulls of the previous era, he struggled with the more conventional characteristics of last year’s car. This was puzzling considering the fact that adaptability had previously been one of Vettel’s biggest strengths. A great driver can be excused one disappointing season, but Vettel cannot afford a second. His switch to Ferrari must prove the hypothesis that his struggles last year were partly rooted in disappointment at not having the machinery to gun for the championship and struggling to find the determination to raise his “IT WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL THING, THE FIRST RACE FOR FERRARI” SEBASTIAN VETTEL game. From 2010-13, his rigour, work ethic and determination to leave no stone unturned characterised the all-round excellence of a driver who combined stunning speed with the thoroughness all great champions need. But that seemed to be strangely lacking last year. With a move to Ferr ari and a reputation to re-establish, if he’s not fully motivated this year then he probably never will be again. That’s what will make it so fascinating to follow his progress. Pre-season has gone pretty well, with the performance of the Ferrari a clear step forward, even if the days when the car has been top of the timesheets probably will prove to have flattered New car seems to be an improvement on the 2014 package 38 AUTOSPORT.COM MARCH 5 2015 WorldMags.net to deceive. Aside from Vettel’s embarrassing trip to the gravel during the first Barcelona test, when he was “asleep”, things have gone very well for the German in his new environment. He completed his final day of pre-season testing last Sunday and, while he is under no illusion that the Ferrari is capable of challenging Mercedes, Vettel believes that being best of the rest is a realistic possibility. “It’s clear that Mercedes is in front,” he said. “After that, there seems to be a little bit of a gap and then I think it’s going to be closer. With many teams, it’s difficult to say who is right behind. But it is probably very close between Williams, Red Bull and ourselves. “The first two is easy [in terms of predicting the grid for Australia]: unless they have some issues the two Mercedes. And then I hope two Ferraris. And then, I don’t care.” Realistically, this would be a dream start for Vettel and Ferrari. Yes, in an ideal world he would fantasise about a win on his first outing in a world championship race for the Scuderia, something achieved for the Maranello team only by Juan Manuel Fangio, Giancarlo Baghetti, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. But just as when Schumacher headed to Ferrari in 1996, this move is about long-term success rather than instant gratification. As Schumacher has admitted in the past, his move to Ferrari was partly motivated by the fact that he knew the Benetton team would struggle to maintain its supremacy. While he could certainly have won the 1996 title, and perhaps even the ’97 one, after that point the team slumped into the doldrums and didn’t win another race until 2003. Ferrari lacks nothing in terms of resources, and by dint of its size and prestige should be capable of fighting for the title year-in, year-out. The indications are that Ferrari is building itself around Vettel, just as it did with Schumacher. The raft of changes over the winter isn’t directly analogous to 1996, for team boss Jean Todt had already been in charge for three years while the double act of Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne and team principal Arrivabene has only just been installed. But there are signs that this could emerge as F1’s next superteam. In James Allison, Ferrari has arguably the best full-time technical director currently working in F1 (Adrian Newey’s withdrawal from frontline service disqualifies him from this position). If the