The pressure of being the first, Ferrari tailors its 2020 car for Vettel
Ferrari still shows that considers the German as its first driver by making the new car fit for him
What is the difference between being the first or the second driver for the team?
As the 2019 season ends, Sebastian Vettel had a hard time answering to this implicit question that is haunting down Ferrari’s team while approaching 2020.https://motorlat.com/notas/f1/14272/daniel-ricciardos-2020-vision#.XhQ1Z9rufyg
Having won 4 World Championships so far and being experienced, it appears obvious that he has to be the one. During this season, things mixed up.
Sebastian Vettel had a couple of seasons of under performances that pulled him down and that is the moment in which Charles Leclerc arrived. Young, talented and confident, the Monegasque outperformed his notorious teammate conquering pole positions and races, pulling down Vettel’s self-esteem even more.
We have to keep in mind that Leclerc has another advantage that does not come only from his flamboyant driving style but in his team: his manager is Nicholas Todt, who has all that it takes to bring the guy as the first driver at his second year in Maranello.
Mattia Binotto still highlights the German as the first drive, though. The team principal says that the new car will be tailored to Sebastian Vettel’s driving style – “2020 car will fit Sebastian’s driving style. It will have more downforce. This 2019 he had problems on braking on the rear but in the second part he knew how to react and he drove well.”
Looking back at the past season, Binotto admits – “ SF90 experienced a lack of downforce to search high maximum speed and this is the reason why Seb went in crisis.”
Does Vettel still have what it takes to be the leader? The Prancing Horse’s Team Principal thinks so – “Vettel went under pressure in the fight against his teammate but in comparison to Charles, he is a driver who can be fast in qualifying as well that in races. 2020 will be for him”.
Yet, words and plan don’t make a fact. Now, it’s up to actions to see who will actually be Ferrari’s first choice for 2020.
A new season, same drivers.
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 5, 2020
Time to add even more memories to our history ✨#essereFerrari 🔴 #90AnniDiEmozioni pic.twitter.com/mllanzf7g6
