Motorsport Week continues its annual team-by-team review and ratings. Today we take a look at Ferrari's performance, along with drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.
Ferrari scored five wins in 2017, six wins in 2018, and had a slight year-on-year increase in points, meaning that statistically they are on their way towards the front. And yet there remains the feeling of disappointment. Driver errors proved costly at a critical juncture but would those errors have occurred with stronger and sager management? Ferrari deserves credit for its engine gains and the way it developed (that terrified Mercedes in Belgium) but got lost after the summer and only realised its mistake come Austin, by which time both titles were lost. Tragic off-track events will not have helped but a more stable behind-the-scenes set-up going forward will help – if such a situation can be struck.
If they were a football team they’d be: Manchester United. Not as good as they once were, not as good as they think they are, but not as bad as some think they are.
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Best Race: Silverstone. They crowed about taking the flag back to Italy, but… |  |
Worst Race: Italy. A 1-2 was nailed on. They blew it. And to Mercedes too. |
Vettel is an outstanding driver capable of executing sublime performances – but as in 2017 he was let down by a few major moments and more than his fair share of silly setbacks. The benefit of hindsight means he probably wouldn’t have beaten Hamilton to the Drivers’ title, even without errors, but the points swing through the mid-phase of 2018 was such that he and Ferrari should have been much, much closer – and who knows what could have happened then. A strong start in 2019 will alleviate some doubts that clearly crept into the driver-team relationship at stages this year.
Where to improve: He needs to stop trying to be Team Principal and start extracting the best from himself. Still prone to critical mistakes at pressure points.
Surprising Stat: Vettel only led four laps after his victory in Belgium.
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Best Race: Superb in Belgium. | |
Worst Race: The biggest error was Germany, but Brazil was lacklustre. |
What to say about 2018-spec Raikkonen? This was by far his brightest campaign at Ferrari in a decade, by which time senior management had already decided to go in a different direction. You cannot doubt the logic of promoting Charles Leclerc but it is frustrating that Raikkonen finally flourished once more just as his time with Ferrari comes to end. There were still off-days and when everything is equal Vettel can extract that little bit more, but given the years of setbacks, Q3 irritations and questionable strategies he thoroughly deserved his day in the sun in Austin.
Where to improve: Going to Sauber is a whole new challenge but frequently in 2018 there were moments where he went missing in Q3, hampering his race prospects.
Surprising Stat: Raikkonen took as many podiums, 12, as in his title-winning 2007 campaign.
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Best Race: Austin. Finally! | |
Worst Race: Nowhere in Canada. |
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