Piero Ferrari, son of company founder Enzo, has compared Sebastian Vettel’s departure to a divorce.
On Tuesday, team and driver announced a mutual decision not to continue beyond the 2020 season, with Carlos Sainz named his replacement on Thursday.
It brings to an end a five-year partnership that promised so much, as Vettel tried to follow in Michael Schumacher’s footsteps, but ultimately ended in disappointment.
The turning point for some was the error at Hockenheim in 2018 that changed the course of that season, with Lewis Hamilton going on to claim an easy fifth world title.
But throughout there’s been times when Vettel and Ferrari haven’t appeared as compatible as the famous ‘Grazie Ragazzi’s’ might have you think.
Seb is very much a hands-on driver who tries to involve himself in everything and that often works against the Scuderia’s philosophy of the driver only drives the car.
Still, after their split was confirmed, Ferrari was clearly sad at the lack of success.
“It’s a beautiful story that could have been much more beautiful,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have reached the end of the relationship with Vettel for various reasons, both for him and the team.
“We no longer live well together and we will separate. It is like a marriage that is coming to an end.”
And though the errors Vettel has made contributed to his Ferrari failure, Piero refused to blame him single-handedly.
“It is not a question of having the best driver or the best car,” he said.
“I often had great confidence and esteem for Seb because he has done great races, but I don’t know if he did not understand the car or we did not understand him.
“Things like this can happen, it is not the time to give responsibility to anyone.”
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