Autosport’s top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2019
10 Sebastian Vettel
Down 6
How can a driver who consistently ran at or near the front, finished fifth in the world championship and won a race be ranked so low? The answer is simple. In 2019, Vettel made too many mistakes – five significant race-ruining ones – and was outperformed by new team-mate Charles Leclerc.
Time after time, he cracked under pressure. In Bahrain, he spun his Ferrari dicing with Lewis Hamilton and cost himself a potential win. In Canada, while being chased by Hamilton, he went off and earned a penalty for rejoining dangerously – and however you view that penalty, the mistake was clearly his. At Silverstone, he crashed into Max Verstappen. At Monza, he spun early on then rejoined rashly. And at Interlagos he took out Leclerc – the nadir of his season as he tried to assert himself over his young team-mate. The red mist has always been a problem for Vettel, doubly so in his Ferrari years.
While he was, on average, 0.129 seconds slower than Leclerc on Saturdays, he rediscovered his speed late in the season, with his Suzuka pole lap among the qualifying performances of the year. After a mid-season run of being consistently outpaced, he at least hit back in the closing stages once the Ferrari improved and he had a stronger front end at his disposal.
He’s a hugely frustrating driver. Likeable, seriously fast and – at his best – every bit the champion that he is. But he didn’t offer anything like his best over too much of the season and the danger is that his 2019 campaign proves Ferrari isn’t the right place for his ability to be delivered consistently.
9 Lando Norris
New entry
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