Spielberg: Total damage for Vettel and Ferrari – “The worst end for us”

As of: 7:06 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes

EIt couldn’t get any worse. For Sebastian Vettel. For Ferrari. At least that’s what you thought, and that’s what the four-time world champion hoped. However, the recent disaster at the second race of the season in Spielberg (Austria) was not long in coming: just seconds after the start of the race, Vettel collided with teammate Charles Leclerc in turn three. He had seen a gap where there was none and drove the German into the side of the car. Vettel had to go to the pits: over the rear wing, race over, frustration rising to infinity.

It was even worse for Ferrari shortly afterwards: Leclerc was able to continue the race with a new front after a pit stop, but then also had to park his car. “It hurts when both drivers drop out so early. The worst end of a difficult weekend, ”said Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto.

If the start of the season with a tenth place a week ago was a debacle for Vettel, the second race in its own place was now a total loss, for him and for the entire team. Even more – the days before had already shown: Ferrari is hopelessly behind. Add to that, to say the least, atmospheric disturbances between Vettel and his soon-to-be ex-employer – bleak prospects for the rest of the season.

“I’m really very sorry”

By the way, world champion Lewis Hamilton won the second Grand Prix after the Corona mandatory break in a Mercedes. The Brit had secured pole position in an impressive manner the day before and confirmed his performance on race day: after fourth place a week ago, he now took his first win of the season with superiority. Teammate and opening winner Valtteri Bottas, who started fourth after braking problems, finished second. Max Verstappen in the Red Bull came third.

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Vettel, who will be retired by Ferarri at the end of the year, could only watch. The end after not even one lap was more than just another defeat for him, who had to endure several setbacks. How did the collision that ended for both Ferrari drivers ended prematurely before the race really started? Vettel saw it this way: “I had no place to go elsewhere, had kept out of everything. Three cars in the corner don’t work, I don’t know where Charles saw a gap, but it didn’t work out, ”he says at RTL.

Leclerc didn’t even try to talk himself out. Contrite, he said: “It’s easy to explain. It was my mistake, Seb didn’t make a mistake at all. I’m really very sorry, but it’s not enough to feel sorry for these times. ”The 22-year-old Monegasse tried to explain his maneuver. “I took the risk because I knew something special had to happen in the first round to get a good result,” he said, “but that’s no excuse. Now both cars are outside and it’s my fault. ”Leclerc went tough on himself. He didn’t do the job he should have done: “I ruined my chances, those of Seb and the whole team.”

Ferrari team boss Binotto upset

Certainly, hardly anyone would have rated Ferrari’s chances of doing well in the second race in Austria as too big, but the principle of hope applied. New front wing, new underbody – with an advanced upgrade package, things should get better. In the rain qualification, however, Vettel had only been in tenth place.

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Perhaps things are going a little better in the dry, was the optimism of purpose that one clung to in the team, although the mood was already in the basement. The racing team is not “competitive”, team boss Binotto rumbled Saturday evening. The upgrades would not have worked either. This is “not good enough for a team that goes by the name of Ferrari”. It would be difficult to imagine that Ferrari would have shown a completely different picture on Sunday if the cars had crossed the finish line. But at least one would have gained new knowledge. And so Vettel said: “It is extremely bitter because I would have liked to drive and would have known how well our upgrades work today.”

There is not much time left until the race in Hungary to get the situation under control – just a week.