How Vettel's Ferrari dream died

When Sebastian Vettel arrived at Ferrari in 2015, like so many who had come before him, he was heralded as the man to turn the team's fortunes around.

Drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher - Vettel's hero - had all hoped to build a new dynasty around them at Maranello, albeit with varying levels of success. Already a four-time world champion when he joined the team, Vettel naturally had similar aspirations.

But in the same way Alonso, Prost and Raikkonen fell from their pedestals in frustrating fashion, Vettel's Ferrari career is heading towards the same end. Still yet to add to his tally of championships and having been overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, Vettel's departure at the end of 2020 was confirmed on Tuesday morning.

Of all the post-Schumacher drivers at Ferrari, Vettel seemed to be the surest bet for success. Lacking the politicised nature of his predecessor Alonso, the German arrived as part of a new era at Maranello under Maurizio Arrivabene.

The results came almost immediately. He won his second race for Ferrari in Malaysia, beating the faster Mercedes cars with a brilliant strategy, and would score two further wins that year. While 2016 offered no victories, that was more a reflection of Ferrari's standing in the final year of those regulations than Vettel's own displays.

Come 2017 and the revised cars, both Vettel and Ferrari looked ready to take the fight to Mercedes. Vettel won the season opener in Australia, and finished no lower than second in the first six races. Heading into the summer break, he was leading Hamilton in the points standings, putting him in real contention to match Juan Manuel Fangio and score his fifth world title.

But then his season fell apart through the Asian flyaways. A start-line crash in Singapore was followed by technical issues on his car in Malaysia and Japan, allowing Hamilton to sprint into a points lead that would prove unassailable. It was an opportunity missed for Ferrari and Vettel.

Their high point came in 2018, though, when the SF71H was clearly the quickest car in the field. Vettel could have won the opening four races, only for incidents outside his control to cost him victory in China and Azerbaijan.

Nevertheless, a fourth win of the year at Silverstone spoiled Hamilton's homecoming and put Vettel into an eight-point lead at the top of the standings. He then took pole at Hockenheim, with Hamilton 14th on the grid. He had all the momentum.

The rise of Leclerc meant Vettel could not expect such generous contractual terms moving forward, both in salary or the length of the deal. But Vettel always stressed money was not a motivating factor in discussions

But it would never get as good as that Saturday afternoon in Germany for the Vettel/Ferrari partnership. Vettel's season fell apart - this time all by his own doing - and it was Hamilton, not Vettel, who won the race to emulate Fangio.

There was that fateful mistake at Hockenheim, crashing out in the wet while leading with 16 laps to go. There was the collision with Hamilton at Monza, the Mercedes driver going on to win while Vettel could only recover from the clash and spin to fourth. Then there was the mistake in qualifying in Singapore, costing him a good shot at pole, the Q3 error at Suzuka, followed by - more notably - the collision with Max Verstappen early on in the race and the clash with Daniel Ricciardo on the first lap in Austin.

An eight-point lead had turned into a 70-point deficit in the space of nine races - all while Ferrari appeared to have the quicker car. Ferrari publicly backed Vettel, but concerns were growing as to whether he would be the man to end its title drought dating back to 2007.

The 2019 campaign brought change with the arrival of Charles Leclerc, who stepped up from Alfa Romeo after just one year in F1 to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who had been a good foil and ally to Vettel.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said priority would be given to Vettel in the early part of the season as Leclerc got up to speed, but the young Monegasque showed little sign of waiting around, taking pole for his second race in Bahrain and matching his more experienced team-mate for pace fairly early on.

Once again, the errors set in as the pressure increased. Vettel spun out while fighting Hamilton in Bahrain when Ferrari looked in position to score a one-two. Then there was a mistake while leading Hamilton in Canada, which resulted in a time penalty that cost him the race victory. At Silverstone, he slammed into the back of Verstappen's Red Bull under braking while fighting for position. And while Leclerc was hailed as the Tifosi's new hero by scoring Ferrari's first home victory for nine years at Monza, Vettel was crestfallen following a spin and unsafe rejoining of the track that ruined his race.

Leclerc had quickly proven he had the pace to lead Ferrari which led to some tense moments with Vettel. Team orders were a point of contention in both Singapore and Russia, while the biggest flashpoint came in Brazil as they clashed on-track while battling late on, forcing both to retire.

Leclerc would end the year ahead of Vettel in the standings, and was rewarded for his efforts with a bumper five-year contract. Yet that wasn't the writing on the wall for Vettel at Ferrari. As contract talks commenced heading into 2020, both parties seemed eager for an extension. Even as recently as pre-season testing, Binotto said the German was his number one target and he was confident they would "come very soon to an agreement".

But there were lingering internal doubts as to whether a new deal would be struck. Ferrari by no means felt a fresh agreement was a certainty, while Leclerc said last month that while he would have no issue with Vettel continuing alongside him, he would "respect the decision for whoever is next to me".

The rise of Leclerc meant Vettel could not expect such generous contractual terms moving forward, both in salary or the length of the deal. But Vettel always stressed money was not a motivating factor in discussions.

"It depends what's important to you, what drives you," Vettel told Autosport in Australia. "And that's fair. If money is your motivator then it can drive you very far, and make you very successful. There's a lot of sportsmen, businessmen that thrive for money. I think the question really is whether people have a sense of enough.

"That's not just valid for Formula 1. We are putting our life in a way also on the line, then you need to show some appreciation for that. I think the really important thing is that you are happy, that's the key."

That is what it came down to. Was Vettel happy?

It is a question he had plenty of time to mull over in recent weeks due to the delayed start to the 2020 season. He was notably on the first possible flight out of Australia, even before the race had officially been cancelled, to return to his young family. His third child, a boy, was born at the end of November.

Like so many other big names through Ferrari's history, Vettel looks set to leave without a world title to his name, falling well short of the expectations and hype that was built upon his arrival

The unexpected time Vettel would have been afforded with his young son over the last two months may have made him think more about his priorities. It was something he hinted at in Ferrari's announcement.

"What's been happening in these past few months has led many of us to reflect on what are our real priorities in life," Vettel said.

"One needs to use one's imagination and to adopt a new approach to a situation that has changed. I myself will take the time I need to reflect on what really matters when it comes to my future."

It will be a simpler future. Whether he retires altogether or takes a step into a midfield team, it feels like a resignation from Vettel that his time at the very front of the F1 grid is over.

But maybe he's OK with that. Perhaps like his friend and former team-mate Raikkonen, he will still take great pleasure in still racing while appreciating the greater things in life - namely his family.

Vettel had dreams of emulating Schumacher by becoming Ferrari's next great legend, creating a legacy at Maranello that would be talked about for decades to come. But with the emergence of Leclerc, and the obvious show of faith from Ferrari evidenced by his long-term contract, that opportunity has passed Vettel. And he knows it.

Like so many other big names through Ferrari's history, Vettel looks set to leave without a world title to his name, falling well short of the expectations and hype that was built upon his arrival.

While his departure will lack the toxicity seen with the likes of Alonso or Prost, it will nevertheless echo the same feelings of disappointment and dreams of what could have been.