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.

yeah that was ugly.

After Vettel's crash, and when it was obvious that he wasn't getting anywhere near the points, why did Ferrari keep him out there circulating? Why not retire him and save the miles on the motor (sorry, power unit)/transmission/turbo for future races?

I thought perhaps they would bring him in for a third stop with about 2 laps left, and switch him to softs to try to get FTD. It may not have been worth a point, as he wasn't in the top 10. But it's good for morale, and at least it would be one less point for the Mercs.

One less point for the Mercs? Makes no difference.

Mercedes is going to win both titles this year and it’s not even going to be close. Hambone is going to beat Bottas, again it won’t even be close.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there you have it.

I still watch but really don’t care or have the enthusiasm for the sport like I use to and many friends feel the same way. Sad.

Every athlete comes to a point in their career when the skills start to erode . Motorsports are a mental and physical challenge and I believe mentally Vettel no longer has his head in the game . The performance of the team is down , his performance is down , he's recently married and he has four championships in the record book . I can see how mentally he's not in the game . Add to that his team mates nipping at his heels or in some cases has outshined the " veteran " and at some point you say enough is enough . I'm sure he has enough money for 10 lifetimes so what is there to drive him to push 110 % ? At this point it may just be ego and in my opinion that's not enough . Step aside with your head held high and enjoy your life .

Agree 200%. But I think it started in Baku a few years ago when he totally lost it. I wish Ferrari would give that seat to Riccardo.

Family Day event on Saturday, a short distance away from Silverstone. All 10 Mercedes F1 cars and power units on display. One lucky dog...

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(C) Mercedes AMG F1

That’s spectacular Won.

Thanks for sharing and congrats on another one-two.

Then why not retire car #5 for the day?

Those teams put so much $$$ and manpower into the cars, it's not in their nature to retire from the race or to concede a point. I think that's why Merc petitioned to have Vettel penalized in Canada. It would have been better for EVERYONE, including the FIA, F1, and the sponsors if Vettel had been declared the winner. But for Merc, winning is mandatory.

Maybe VET should do a reverse ALO. ALO was at the top of his game in an inferior car when he "retired". VET is waning in what LEC has proven to be at least a contender. Maybe VET should just retire during the beak and give OCO or some other young gun a shot.

If Rossi moves in INDY car then Vettel can take his seat. Or another.

Vettel was waning at Red Bull when Riccardo showed up.

Move him to Alfa for his last year. Or otherwise pay him off. And put a Riccardo, an Ocon or any promising F2 driver in his seat.

A long shot to replace Vettel would be Mick Schumacher . Not saying he is ready yet but is on the fast track to move up . Ferrari has not been shy to say anytime he is ready they have a seat for him . Leclerq is showing he has the stuff to be a # 1 driver , maybe pairing him with a young gun would work . All speculation at this point .

Vettel could snap out of his funk , win a few races and shut up all of us arm chair racers !

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.

Watching the "Drive to Survive" series with its peek behind the skirts says its clearly not about talent. $$ is the driving force. I have no clue as to how much money VET brings to Ferrari but it must be substantial. Agree that RIC proved his equal at Red Bull. (yet to be seen if he can bring Renault up) OCO was certainly better in the racing sense than PER. Would be interesting to see talent win once. VET has just been a petulant little boy for the past 3 years. His total break down in Baku last year with HAM was just amazing for a top flight driver. Running into VER at Silverstone seemed almost deliberate, though I understand he went to Red Bull and apologized to VER in person. Was good racing though

This video of Sir Frank Williams brought a big smile to my face:

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Fun video.. watched it a few times previously..

How are the brakes? brakes are good!

How are the brakes? brakes are gone!

That was an interesting shot of the deformation of one of the front tires when they hit the rumble strips at about 3:07.