Sebastian Vettel has dismissed his critics while outlining what will help determine if he continues in Formula 1 post-2020.
The four-time world champion has been under close scrutiny for much of this season after several errors and struggling to contain the threat of new teammate Charles Leclerc.
Around Monaco, it was even suggested Vettel was considering retiring from F1, however, given quickly the coverage of him has shifted based on results, he simply called their knee-jerk reactions.
“It is just difficult sometimes not to listen [to critics],” he admitted last weekend in Austin. “The world is moving so fast these days. I think people judge too quickly, that is my opinion.
“We have a lot of people in the team and obviously we’re all fans of the sport. We’re passionate, and people follow what is being said and being written.
“That doesn’t help. Sometimes, if there is something negative it takes a little bit longer to get it out of people’s head.
“But is quite funny, because three days before they say that everything is bad, and then one race after they say everything is great.
“For myself, it is not so bad, because I’ve been around for a long time, and you see ups and downs.”
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Even so, with his contract at Ferrari expiring after next season and Leclerc already on a level playing field, questions over Vettel’s future will only continue.
“I think it depends a lot on what is happening with the rules and I think it depends on next year, then we go from there,” he said, explaining what will drive his eventual decision.
“We’ve seen that the longer the rules are in place then the closer the field tends to be. That’s true for the top three teams, but then there is still quite a big gap to the teams behind.
“You have the best teams at the front and the best drivers at the front no matter which rules you’re running, but for sure it will be nicer if you bring everybody closer together,” Seb commented.
“I hope that whatever comes out is good for the sport because something needs to happen.
“Everybody is spending a lot of money to try and find a little bit of performance. In a way, it has to be simplified.”
Vettel, though, would echo a popular complaint that the 2021 regulations must avoid turning F1 into a single-spec series like IndyCar or Formula E.
“There is always a fine line between keeping the DNA of Formula 1 and trying to string everybody together,” he acknowledged.
“You don’t want the same cars for everybody with the same engines, because that would not be Formula 1, but something must happen because otherwise, I think it’s very difficult to master the future and the future challenges of motor racing.”