The mistake too many for Vettel?
Clearly, Monza does not favor Sebastian Vettel. The German spun for the second consecutive time in front of thousands of tifosi. A small mistake with big consequences.
Qualified 4th due to a chaotic qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had to move up in the rankings. Especially since his teammate, Charles Leclerc, started from pole position. Being overtaken by Nico Hülkenberg at the start, the German driver quickly overtook his compatriot to rejoin the leaders: « Despite my good start, I lost a place to Hülkenberg but quickly regained it. I was stuck and had nowhere to go. After that, I caught up well to the Mercedes. »
It is on the 7th lap that things seriously go wrong for the four-time world champion. At the Ascari chicane, he loses control of his Ferrari. Spinning out, he comes back dangerously onto the track and hits Lance Stroll, sending him into a spin as well. The Canadian follows the same pattern as the one who hit him, ending up right in the middle of the track, forcing Pierre Gasly to go through the gravel.
In addition to breaking his front wing, Sebastian Vettel receives a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for a dangerous re-entry onto the track. His race is then completely ruined. He finishes in a distant 13th place while Charles Leclerc wins his second consecutive race, earning the eternal recognition of the tifosi: “But I lost the rear of my SF90 at one point and I couldn’t catch it. After that, it was over for my race. I struggled a bit to restart my car which was slightly on the curbs and I didn’t see him coming, really. I’m sorry.”
After this Italian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel has clearly lost the upper hand to Charles Leclerc. Due to this major underperformance, the German loses his fourth place in the constructors’ standings. He concedes 13 points to his garage mate. He is clearly no longer the favorite at Scuderia. The prancing horse team has surely already begun to focus fully on their Monegasque driver.
