As the new year of Formula 1 beckons, fans have every reason to be excited about the new season of youth and experience of two of the top teams in the past decade. With Kimi Raikkonen now at Sauber having completed his second stint at Ferrari, the time is ripe for young Charles Leclerc to show the world what he is made of. A blend of youth and experience in the form of Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel bodes well for the sport as it will ensure Vettel will find the internal competition that has been lacking at Ferrari. Leclerc had an incredible season at Sauber and came to F1 last year on the back of an impressive championship reign in Formula 2 in 2017. Add to that Pierre Gasly's move at redbull and we have 3 young drivers in Max Verstappen, Gasly and Leclerc in two of the top teams of the sport. Lewis Hamilton will again be Mercedes's main driver with Valtteri Bottas playing the supporting role. The midfield battle looks better with Daniel Ricciardo, hugely frustrated by engine failures at Redbull, now at Renault and the return of Robert Kubica, after a gap of 8 years to Williams. However, the ultimate battle would still be at the front with Hamilton, now a 5 time world champion competing against Vettel, the youngest quadruple champion of the sport. Expecting Leclerc to compete from the word go would be a massive mistake and Vettel should remain Ferrari's best hope to win their first drivers title since 2007. Beating Hamilton with him being on his A-game is nearly impossible if Ferrari keep repeating the mistakes of the last 2 seasons. Here's a few things they might want to do to reign supreme again!
Make Vettel the outright number 1
Even though Vettel was the better performer for most of the last 2 seasons, he never officially was recognized as the number 1 driver at Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen was sometimes asked to move over for his team mate but during crunch times of the title race, Vettel was often left behind his own team mate. The prime examples of these things are the Singapore Grand Prix in 2017 and the Monza Grand Prix in 2018. In both of these races Vettel went into the race competing with Hamilton and at the end of both, he had the feeling of missing out on the title. In both of these races, had Raikkonen taken a back seat and allowed Vettel to storm to a win just like Bottas does with Hamilton, Vettel would have been able to extend his advantage and maybe even win the championship. For Ferrari to land a title this season, it's imperative that Vettel enjoys the number 1 status and Leclerc holds off Bottas. This will bode well for them in the World Contructors Championship too. Anything less than that and we can be pretty sure of seeing Hamilton being crowned as the second 6 time Drivers Champion of the sport after the legendary Michael Schumacher.
Consistency for Vettel
Despite the internal advantage being more of an issue at Ferrari than Mercedes, Vettel certainly has not converted the opportunities he has been presented with. The most notable one being the German Gp of 2018, where he squandered the opportunity to go 20 points clear at the top of the standings. He led for 3/4th of the race distance only to spin in the rain and let Hamilton win the race. That was a race to consolidate the standings since Hamilton started 14th and Vettel started on pole. Then came the failed overtaking manoeuvres on Verstappen and Ricciardo which led to him spinning and fighting to get to the top 5 while Hamilton slowly increased his lead. Vettel needs to not let the fact that he has a faster car to his disposal get to his head and needs to be more consistent while overtaking marginally slower cars like that of Redbull. This is where Leclerc's arrival at the team will keep him on his toes. He now has a team mate who can challenge him more and perhaps, even win a few Grand Prixs himself, thus, serving as a motivation for Vettel to maintain his position in the team.
Strategy the key for Ferrari
The past two seasons have proved beyond doubt that Ferrari have a better straight line speed, something which has eluded them for well over a decade and is the best car on tracks which require greater downforce and street circuits like Monaco and Singapore. They have the best race pace and their tyres hold well at most tracks. All they now need is a good strategy when it comes to tyre choices and timing of the pitstops. They need to give Vettel a clean run and ensure he does not waste his tyre life overtaking the back markers. If Ferrari and Vettel can finally get their act together after two seasons of disappointment against Hamilton and Mercedes, the F1 fans are in for a treat this season!
Make Vettel the outright number 1
Even though Vettel was the better performer for most of the last 2 seasons, he never officially was recognized as the number 1 driver at Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen was sometimes asked to move over for his team mate but during crunch times of the title race, Vettel was often left behind his own team mate. The prime examples of these things are the Singapore Grand Prix in 2017 and the Monza Grand Prix in 2018. In both of these races Vettel went into the race competing with Hamilton and at the end of both, he had the feeling of missing out on the title. In both of these races, had Raikkonen taken a back seat and allowed Vettel to storm to a win just like Bottas does with Hamilton, Vettel would have been able to extend his advantage and maybe even win the championship. For Ferrari to land a title this season, it's imperative that Vettel enjoys the number 1 status and Leclerc holds off Bottas. This will bode well for them in the World Contructors Championship too. Anything less than that and we can be pretty sure of seeing Hamilton being crowned as the second 6 time Drivers Champion of the sport after the legendary Michael Schumacher.
Consistency for Vettel
Despite the internal advantage being more of an issue at Ferrari than Mercedes, Vettel certainly has not converted the opportunities he has been presented with. The most notable one being the German Gp of 2018, where he squandered the opportunity to go 20 points clear at the top of the standings. He led for 3/4th of the race distance only to spin in the rain and let Hamilton win the race. That was a race to consolidate the standings since Hamilton started 14th and Vettel started on pole. Then came the failed overtaking manoeuvres on Verstappen and Ricciardo which led to him spinning and fighting to get to the top 5 while Hamilton slowly increased his lead. Vettel needs to not let the fact that he has a faster car to his disposal get to his head and needs to be more consistent while overtaking marginally slower cars like that of Redbull. This is where Leclerc's arrival at the team will keep him on his toes. He now has a team mate who can challenge him more and perhaps, even win a few Grand Prixs himself, thus, serving as a motivation for Vettel to maintain his position in the team.
Strategy the key for Ferrari
The past two seasons have proved beyond doubt that Ferrari have a better straight line speed, something which has eluded them for well over a decade and is the best car on tracks which require greater downforce and street circuits like Monaco and Singapore. They have the best race pace and their tyres hold well at most tracks. All they now need is a good strategy when it comes to tyre choices and timing of the pitstops. They need to give Vettel a clean run and ensure he does not waste his tyre life overtaking the back markers. If Ferrari and Vettel can finally get their act together after two seasons of disappointment against Hamilton and Mercedes, the F1 fans are in for a treat this season!
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