Sebastian Vettel, after winning four consecutive World Championships with Red Bull, moved to Ferrari. Though the change in engine regulations did not affect his driving, his stint with the team wasn’t as impressive as before.
It was extremely hard for him to beat Lewis Hamilton, whose dominance with Mercedes was all over the grid. Ferrari was still developing a car that was fast enough to win the championship. Rocky believes that having a slower car was one of the reasons that let Vettel’s confidence down later.
Rocky explains how Sebastian Vettel’s pace helped with tyre management
Sebastian Vettel’s raw pace was extremely fast relative to all the drivers on the grid during his prime with Red Bull. While this helped him win multiple races while establishing his dominance, it also helped him in other ways.
With a fast raw speed, there were fewer obstacles and fewer battles with other drivers. This, in turn, helped him with his tire management. After refuelling was banned for the cars, the increased fuel load made it harder for other drivers to maintain their tires as well as the German. Rocky believes that this was a big reason for his success.
Although Sebastian Vettel was still fast enough, Ferrari failed to deliver him a car that was capable of competing against the likes of Mercedes. The 2018 season was the last time Vettel was a contender for a fifth World Championship, but ended the season behind Hamilton.
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