Where is the Love?

Full disclosure here:  I am new to the Formula 1 scene.  I went to my first race in Montreal back in 2016 and have made it a new annual tradition.  I love watching the drivers race at the high speeds and admire their intricate level of skill.  As I am watching this year’s rendition of the Spanish Grand Prix, I want to focus on a couple drivers that I have grown fond of during the years: Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, two drivers that were representing the Ferrari team when I started actively following F1.

              Let’s start by talking about Raikkonen.  Affectionately known as the Ice Man for his stoic demeanor, Raikkonen is extremely popular for his no nonsense approach to racing.  For a good laugh, I highly recommend watching his Top 10 radio interactions with his team.  Kimi’s last year with Ferrari was in 2018 and his dramatic win in Austin at the US Grand Prix was a highlight to the season.  In typical Kimi fashion, his reaction to winning the race was F’ing Finally.  Although he was clearly the 2^nd driver at Ferrari, he was still a top-quality driver even in his late 30’s finishing the 2018 season in 3^rd place for the driver standings.  But he was replaced at Ferrari by the up and comer Charles Leclerc.  Instead of retiring, Kimi’s decided to move on to the Alfa Romeo team.  Clearly the Alfa Romeo car is not a championship level car, in fact it is one of the lower tier teams in F1.  Nevertheless, Kimi races because he loves it.  It’s not for the money, its not for the fame, it’s all for the love of the game.  It’s obvious that Kimi Raikkonen is a treasure and it will be a sad day for F1 fans when this legend decides to retire. 

              Now on to Sebastian Vettel, a 4-time champion with the Red Bull team.  Vettel left Red Bull to follow his dream and be a part of Ferrari the team of his inspiration, Michael Schumacher.  Vettel is a respected driver with an impressive track record.  However, despite his previous success at Red Bull, Vettel has not been able to win a championship with Ferrari for various reasons; some being his own fault for some poor decisions during races and others due to his rocky relationship with his team.  At this point in time, it is evident that Ferrari is focusing their efforts on the up and comer Leclerc.  The 2020 season has been an absolute nightmare, Vettel has struggled to qualify in the top 10 for races, has not finished multiple races, and been the victim of poor strategy. To top that off, Vettel’s contract was not renewed with the team and he has lame duck status.  This unfortunate situation has led to Vettel losing confidence in Ferrari, making more decisions on the track, and making him sound like a completely defeated man.  In this case, I put it more on Ferrari not showing love to Vettel and making this relationship end so sadly. 

              The situation for both drivers makes me sad and its something that translates in other sports.  Sometimes people enjoy watching the greats struggle as it is a sign of humanity, but at the same time it does hurt to watch someone go from dominating to not being competitive.  Nevertheless, I still wouldn’t want to see either of these great drivers leave Formula 1.

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