Manoah2u wrote: ↑30 Mar 2021, 22:04
Vettel is still that same guy that made 4 WDC titles, and won a GP with Toro Rosso.
If Vettel is so good, why did he as a reigning champion
immediately get beaten by 3 wins to 0, and 8 podiums to 4, by a youngster by the name of Ricciardo? If Vettel is the one famed for hustling the Red Bull
as fast as possible, then what the heck happened, how could somebody else immediately be clearly faster!? It just doesn't add up!
If not for the Ferrari strategy at Singapore, 2019 would been a repeat of 3 wins to 0, this time against Leclerc.
It suggests that Vettel is
not at the level of Ricciardo or Leclerc, and by extension Verstappen, Alonso, Hamilton etc.
Considering that Aston Martin could have put Alonso in the car, it could be that Vettel will leave laptime on the table and, despite being the "hired-gun multi-WDC lead driver", undermine the efforts of the entire Aston Martin team to optimise performance, just as Vettel did for Red Bull in 2014 and Ferrari in 2020.
Without Ricciardo, 2014 could have been a dismal winless year for Red Bull, and Red Bull might erroneously think their car is incapable of winning!
(Of course, Stroll's seat is non-negotiable, although a Alonso/Vettel pairing at Aston Martin would have been interesting to see for comparative purposes.)
Manoah2u wrote: ↑30 Mar 2021, 22:04
Vettel still is the one that got closest to Hamilton yet in getting a chance for the WDC in the hybrid era
They were not driving the same car! Rosberg bested Hamilton in the same car... It could be that the Ferrari was in fact superior, and Vettel was leaving laptime on the table compared to what Alonso, Ricciardo or Leclerc could do in that car, as Vettel's qualifying margin over Raikkonen was smaller than Alonso's...
Manoah2u wrote: ↑30 Mar 2021, 22:04
But all we had is one race weekend. Let's wait and see.
It's a lot more than one race weekend of lacklustre driving! See all the above. Vettel, to the contrary, has developed a pattern of being outperformed by faster teammates... If Vettel is a top driver who
always hustles the car to the best possible laptime or thereabouts, then this would by definition be impossible.
The only possible explanation is Vettel is quite good but does
not consistently achieve a vehicle's fastest possible laptime.
