Sebastian Vettel’s time “has passed” according to former Ferrari Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa.
The Brazilian believes Ferrari was right not to renew his contract at the start of the season, saying the German’s results have vindicated the Italian team’s unpopular decision.
Vettel’s future prior to last week had been unknown, with the four-time F1 World Champion admitting he had considered retirement, but it was recently confirmed that he would join Aston Martin Racing for the ’21 season.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz will line-up alongside Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next year and Massa is hopeful the team can recover from its current “sad” state to give the duo a competitive car.
“Vettel’s time has passed, so much so that his results this year show that Ferrari may have taken the right option not to renew his contract,” Massa told Brazil’s Globo.com.
“To see such an important team suffering in this way is very sad. Nobody wants to see Ferrari having these problems.
“Carlos Sainz is a good driver, young and has a lot of room to grow as well.
“Of course, they need to have a competitive car before anything – I have hope for his sake. It is an exceptional team, I have a great affection, and without a doubt it is different from the others, as if it were a religion.”
Meanwhile with Lewis Hamilton dominating and continually breaking Michael Schumacher’s records, Massa, who lost out on the 2008 title to Hamilton, says his success is deserved, but would like to see greater competition.
“We had some nice races like Monza and Mugello, different things like Gasly’s victory. I think everyone was rooting for him. But this is another year in which Hamilton has dominated, playing with the other drivers and doing an exceptional job, but he deserves it for the driver he is.”
