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2017 F1 season ratings: Ferrari

Writer's picture: Andrew ZarbAndrew Zarb


Ferrari

2016 was not a great year for the Prancing Horse at Maranello - no wins and finishing third in the constructors' championship. However, the change in regulations for 2017 gave teams an opportunity to start afresh, and Ferrari took full advantage, making a major step forward with their car. Arguably Ferrari designed the best car of 2017, and it was one could say the most consistently performing, standing out on high-downforce and twisty circuits such as Monaco, Hungary and Singapore.

The team did not have a World Champion (driver) in part through errors on Sebastian Vettel's part, however reliability also let them down during the Asian leg of the season following Monza - where an engine failure during qualifying in Malaysia for Vettel meant that he started all the way at the back of the grid where arguably Ferrari looked to have the better car, whilst in the race Kimi Raikkonen who was meant to start on the front row did not even start the race with an engine issue as well where it is arguable that he had the pace to beat Hamilton who started on pole position. Then the ultimate blow although this was more concerning the World Championship (Drivers') battle was the spark plug failure for Vettel in Japan. Arguably a way in which Mercedes beat Ferrari was the fact that Valtteri Bottas performed better as the what you could call "No.2 driver" than Raikkonen, as well as reliability which was alluded to earlier on.

This year was a big step forward for the Prancing Horse, but can they build on that and win the 2018 Constructors' Championship or have one of their drivers (although it's quite clear who that would be) become World Champion? If they address the reliability for next season, as well as their drivers step up this is a very big possibility.

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel had some high points during the season and at times some of his driving was outstanding - think of his Monaco win (although it is debatable whether that was Ferrari's plan to get the German to win that race ahead of team-mate Raikkonen through the strategy), whilst his win in Hungary was notable where he was struggling with steering, whilst his one-lap performance was at times superb and his ability to pull out a lap from almost nowhere was seen clearly in Mexico and you could also say the same in Singapore.

Ultimately you could say that with the car Ferrari had, Vettel threw away his chance to win the World Championship. His incident with Lewis Hamilton at Baku showed that he is mentally a weaker driver than the Brit, and he was extremely fortunate to escape without a race ban for absolutely unacceptable behaviour by swerving into the side of him which was disgraceful to the sport, and you'd have to admit he let himself as well as Ferrari down with his actions. Also, his Singapore crash was absolutely daft play by the German who tried to cover off Max Verstappen who got the better start from the front row, when he was heading for arguably a certain win - it was also daft of him to do so when it was in the wet, also you could argue that he was fortunate to escape without any punishment for it. It is clear to note in my opinion that Max Verstappen has got under in skin and I believe that he would not have attempted that move to cover off at the start if it were another driver.

Vettel definitely stepped up his performance this year, but has to step up another level if he is to beat Hamilton in the fight for the World Championship. If he mentally learns to be wiser in certain situations and uses his brain, then a fifth world championship could be a possibility.

Kimi Raikkonen

The best days of Kimi Raikkonen are clearly gone now and it is clear that he is put as a "No.2" driver at Ferrari. In my opinion, he does not perform consistently enough and top moments are few and far between these days. To be fair, he was unlucky in my view not to win in Monaco where strategy (whether deliberately or by coincidence is debatable) worked against him. Arguably in Hungary he was the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers, but since Vettel is the preferred driver he had to hold station and settle for second where he possibly merited the win. Also, he was extremely unlucky in Great Britain when he suffered a puncture whilst running a well-earned second.

However, he was too inconsistent and when the team needed him to earn some points which would help Vettel in his World Championship battle he couldn't quite provide them. He to be fair did a decent job throughout the year and I believe that a one-year additional contract is justified, though I do believe that Ferrari need to start considering a replacement for a driver who is now 38 years old.


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