Sebastian Vettel has “past his peak” in Formula 1 though hasn’t been helped by his Ferrari team, according to two of Britain’s former top racing drivers.
Sir Jackie Stewart had the most scathing criticism of the German after his loss to Lewis Hamilton in the championship for the second straight year was confirmed last weekend in Mexico.
And despite the younger of F1’s top two drivers of this generation, the triple world champion believes the 31-year-old’s career is on a downward trend.
“I think Sebastian is past his peak and Lewis is still building to his,” Stewart told German newspaper Bild. “He came into F1 at 20 and was a four-time world champion by 26.
“There’s no reason Sebastian cannot come back, but it will be very difficult because after a season like that you are more critical of yourself and what you want to do and what you don’t want to do.”
Backing up his rather bold claim, Stewart pointed to the raft of mistakes Vettel has made this season.
“It’s not possible to keep blaming everyone else,” he stated. “If you fight for a World Championship and you see that a move you make could be a problem for you, you don’t necessarily try it. You wait for the right moment.
“I like Sebastian very much and he is a very good driver. Very emotional and technically maybe still the best, but he does not have a clear mind like he used to.”
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Meanwhile, the man Vettel replaced at Red Bull for 2009, David Coulthard, believes a lot of his problems have stemmed from how Ferrari has supported him.
“I just get a feeling that the team haven’t supported Vettel in the same way that Lewis has been supported,” the Scot told Sportsmail.
“What [Ferrari] did at Monza, allowing Kimi to get pole, and then Vettel ending up running second into the second chicane, and that gives Hamilton a go…things like that put them on the back foot.
“They can’t deny that certain strategic decisions have played against Vettel,” Coulthard added. “A combination of that and just generally some unfortunate and unforced errors on his part.”
