Sebastian Vettel Compared To Schumacher, Backed To Win Title With Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is refusing to feel put down despite the team’s faltering title challenge during the 2018 Formula 1 season and is certain that Sebastian Vettel will add to his four F1 Drivers’ championship titles before his time is done with the Italian team.

The German driver joined Ferrari in 2015 aiming to win a title with F1's most successful team, but his dream is yet to come true. The 2018 campaign was expected to be their best chance and after a promising start, it has yet again unraveled in the face of pressure from Mercedes.

Vettel began the season in fine fashion and was in contention until the summer break, but numerous errors from the driver and team have seen Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes surge ahead. The British driver is on the verge of winning his fifth Drivers’ title after increasing his lead to 67 points with four races remaining, while the reigning champions are set to make it five consecutive Constructors’ titles.

Despite their title hopes fading away, Arrivabene has complete faith in Vettel going forward and even compared him to seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher, who won five consecutive titles with Ferrari between 2000 and 2004.

The Ferrari chief is confident the German driver will add to the four titles he won with Red Bull Racing between 2010 and 2013. Vettel is contracted to the Italian manufacturer until the end of the 2020 season.

“It takes talent and determination otherwise you do not go anywhere,” Arrivabene told La Repubblica, as quoted on PlanetF1.

“Michael Schumacher was like that and Sebastian Vettel is a lot like him as his four World titles won with Red Bull testifying to,” he explained. “When I hear him on the radio it’s like talking to Michael.”

“I am sure that sooner or later he will bring the title back to Maranello,” the Ferrari team principal added.

Ferrari’s sudden drop in form and Vettel’s numerous mistakes in recent races has come under intense scrutiny from the media and public. Questions have been raised about the team’s ability to perform under pressure.

Mercedes stepped up their performances and have been unshakeable, while Ferrari on the other hand have crumbled despite many believing they possessed the better car — at least in the first half of the season — than the Silver Arrows team.

Arrivabene has welcomed the criticism and extra pressure from the outside as he believes it has pushed the team into putting more effort to return to winning ways. It is certainly the closest a team has come to ending Mercedes’ dominance of the sport in recent seasons.

“We do not talk about pressure because we do a particular job too and Ferrari is at the center of everything,” Arrivabene said. “In fact, we have to thank the press and the public that is pushing for a return to winning.”