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