Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine admits he was “surprised” when the Scuderia took on Sebastian Vettel in 2015.
Having seen his four years of dominance with Red Bull ended by Mercedes when the current hybrid era began, the German followed in the footsteps of Michael Schumacher in making his dream move to Maranello.
In the five seasons since, however, Vettel has not been able to repeat the success of his hero and is now under threat from the arrival of young blood in Charles Leclerc.
“I said at the start of the year, and everyone went a bit crazy, that Sebastian Vettel was a sitting duck,” Irvine said, speaking to Betway in Italy.
“I thought Leclerc had a good chance of beating him because I don’t think Vettel is a worthy four-time world champion.
“I think he is a very good driver, but he makes a lot of mistakes and I never really thought he was that fast.
Also Read:
- Vettel owns his critics, sets out criteria to stay in F1 post-2020
- Leclerc not interesting in taking No.1 status at Ferrari for 2020
- Vettel insists ‘very quick’ Leclerc is good for him as Ferrari predict more drama
“We are seeing that this year. We saw it with Daniel Ricciardo [at Red Bull in 2014] and we’re seeing it again now with Leclerc.
“Vettel got an amazing deal with Ferrari. I was surprised that they took him because it was at a stage where he was getting destroyed.”
The Irishman followed up by being one of several figures to suggest it is time Ferrari favoured the Monegasque over Vettel if they want to achieve championship success.
However, there has already been occasional flashpoints between the two drivers regarding team orders and whether the 32-year-old can abide by them.
“In the end, you look after yourself,” Sebastian claimed. “You have to also stand up for yourself and [for] what you believe is right.
“Whether then afterwards you were still right or wrong, it is a different story.”
That being said, Vettel does admit the interests of the team are now more important than they used to be.
“If you compare to the 70s, 80s, early 90s, then it was still like the driver was the main figure,” he suggested.
“You needed a team around you, but I think nowadays you carry much more responsibility for the people around you, the people behind you, supporting you, supporting the team.
“And especially with Ferrari. It is fair to say, that the team is bigger than anything else. Bigger than the driver.”
