F1 | Montezemolo: “Vettel is a Ferrari asset”

The dream has not changed, it is still the same, bringing the world title back to Maranello. Since his arrival at Ferrari in 2015, Sebastian Vettel has worked hard together with the Italian team to grow and make the Rossa a world title team again, to realize that dream that the German had had since he was a child. It is certainly no mystery that the two parties have often been close even before 2015, but for various reasons that marriage had to wait for a moment in which there was a need for a driver from which to start again, with whom to lay the foundations to bring Ferrari back at the top after years lacking in satisfaction.

The person who brought him to Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, who signed that contract at the end of 4, talks about Sebastian Vettel's 2014 years in Red: “He's a very nice boy. I remember that he came to my house with Domenicali bringing a box of Swiss chocolates. He is very polite and I immediately liked him as a person. He made an analysis of his position at Red Bull and was very happy to have the chance to come to Ferrari. I told him that Michael was his main supporter, that when in the summer of 2009 he was unable to return to the track with us, he asked me 'why don't you take Vettel? He is young but in my opinion he will become the best', but at that moment we had already signed with Alonso. At the time I honestly thought it was too early to bring Vettel to Maranello, due to the pressure in Ferrari and other reasons" the former President of the Italian team told "Beyond The Grid", the official Formula podcast 1.

“In any case, I was the one who signed Vettel and I think he is a very good driver. He certainly won championships with the best car, but he won” – Montezemolo then added. “He arrived at Maranello in November, while I left Ferrari in October, so I never saw him at Maranello, but my feeling from the outside, and sometimes from the outside I'm wrong, is that he's a very fast guy, a nice person, a guy who loves Ferrari and who knows his responsibilities, but I think maybe sometimes he doesn't have that necessary strength, but of course I didn't even have the chance to meet him in a meeting. This is my feeling from the outside. Having said that, I believe that Sebastian is an asset of Ferrari, that it is possible to make mistakes, we must not forget that Michael also made them in the early years, that there is a need to motivate him, to protect him, to make him feel that the whole team is with him".

Although Vettel has come close on several occasions, the German has not yet managed to bring the coveted world crown back to Maranello. But if he were still President of Ferrari, what would be the moves that Montezemolo would implement to put the 4-time world champion in a position to express himself at his best: “First of all, talking to him. Understanding what he wants, what he needs, what he doesn't like, what he needs to express himself better, in terms of people, working methodologies, how to prepare for the race... In short, a 360° analysis. Secondly, I would tell him to stay close to the team and that my door is always open. Then I would tell the team manager to guarantee him maximum public support during the weekends, because on some occasions I have read criticisms from the team, and I think this is a big mistake. When you are in Maranello behind closed doors, you argue, but you win and lose together. I think that if a rider makes mistakes, as can happen, I think it's because he feels the pressure or because he doesn't feel full support around him. Of course you can also be unlucky, because in my opinion what happened in Singapore can be discussed endlessly, but for me it is not a mistake. But I think that at certain moments Vettel is not cold enough, but believe me, I have been at Ferrari for more than 25 years and I don't like when people talk from the outside, they don't know many details of how the situation is progressing, so I could also be wrong." commented the Italian manager.

The 2018 season was the one that saw the best chance of realizing the dream and winning the world title, but unfortunately the championship ended again with a second place. Montezemolo wanted to underline how, even if it is true that the car had some dark moments during the championship, there was a lot to work on also on the issue of driver management: "I think Vettel is one of the three best drivers on the grid , there is no discussion about this. In 2018 I think Ferrari was more competitive in some races than Mercedes, it was probably their most complicated success since they returned to Formula 1. I think Ferrari built a good car and made some progress, so if I have to say my opinion, I think there was too much pressure, and this can happen. But also that there is something to improve in the team, also in the way in which the riders are managed, because if we look at 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, in particular in the last two years it was possible to win the title. If Ferrari lost the title race with 2/3 races to go, and not in the second part of the race of the last round of the championship, as in 2008, 1997, 2010 and 2012, you have to ask yourself why. It's not simply a question of the car. I think that in some races in 2018, both in the first and second part of the season, in my humble opinion Ferrari was better than Mercedes" concluded the former Ferrari President.