Quote:
Originally Posted by 450knotOffice
I've been a Vettel apologist for his entire stint at Ferrari, but I'm thinking he's more of a hindrance to the team's success these days. Leclerc is faster and is the better racer. Heck, I think any number of drivers on the grid can out-drive Vettel at this point in his career: Ham, Max, Leclerc, Riccardo, and possibly Ocon, to name a few. Hell, I think even old guy Alonso can out-race Vettel. He CERTAINLY could've when in his prime. Vettel won four WDC's with a DOMINANT car that happened to also suit him well. Without a car that reliably has him out front and uncontested, he has shown a tendency to make mistakes over and over again. Heck, I remember him crashing into Webber when those two actually got into races for the lead. His race craft for a 4 time WDC is woeful.
Schumi would've owned him in his prime.
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It seems to me that LeClerc has just finished cutting his teeth and is now a more reliable driver. However, this remains to be seen. On most teams there is the stable points getter and the rabbit championship contender (or would be if the team in general was fast). Raikkonen was last year's stable points getter. Now Vettel takes up that position.
I wouldn't toss him out of the seat yet in favor of another young gun. It has taken Vettel too long to learn the new power train. His 4 championships were in a different kind of car that happened to be also the superior car of its time.