Mark Webber believes Sebastian Vettel still has what it takes to be a Formula One champion even though his former Red Bull teammate has fallen way behind in this year’s driver’s race.
After eight races, Ferrari’s Vettel lags Lewis Hamilton by 76 points and cannot catch up until August even if the Mercedes icon has three retirements in a row – unlikely for a man with only one since 2016, heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg.
Vettel, who won all four of his world championships with Red Bull, has gone 16 races without a victory and made some costly errors, while Hamilton has won 14 of the last 20.
Questions have increasingly been asked about Vettel’s performance under pressure while Hamilton speeds towards a sixth championship.
Australian Webber believes Vettel still has the skills but needs better support and more ammunition from the oldest and most glamorous team.
“I think he needs a couple more lieutenants, he needs to have less responsibility in the team and just more reassurance that the Monday to Friday stuff is going to be dealt with,” he told Reuters.
“Seb’s still has got it, but it’s a real challenge to stay ahead against a Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton factor week in and week out.”
Vettel is third overall, and best of the rest behind the Mercedes drivers, with teammate Charles Leclerc fifth and 24 points further adrift.
Formula One’s most successful team has not won any title since 2008.
This year’s car was the talk of pre-season testing with its straight-line pace in Barcelona but is losing time overall to Mercedes through the corners. Correcting the problems will take time.
“Red Bull is like a Formula Three team compared to Ferrari. With Ferrari there’s an article every day in the Gazzetta dello Sport. It’s a religion there and being a driver is not easy,” said Webber.
“If you look at when Ferrari executed the best, we go back to when it was Ross (Brawn) and Jean (Todt),” he said, referring to the golden years at the start of the century when Ferrari won six successive constructors’ titles under foreign bosses.
“They had a big mix of culture and I think that’s still a bit of a missing link.”
So too is qualifying and single lap pace, with Vettel dangerous when starting off the front row but more vulnerable further back.
“Lewis is going to win the championship and Mercedes are going to win the constructors’ (title), it’s obvious. Mercedes are just too strong,” said Webber.
“Ferrari just have not got enough bullets. It’s like a football team, Mercedes just keep getting a result. Ferrari need everything to line up.”