DECEMBER 17, 2019
Vettel struggling politically at Ferrari says Marko
Dr Helmut Marko thinks former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel is struggling politically at Ferrari.
Dr Helmut Marko thinks former Red Bull champion Sebastian Vettel is struggling politically at Ferrari.
Marko groomed the then teenaged German into Formula 1 and onto four world championships, but Vettel, now 32, has been less successful over five years at Ferrari.
The German website motorsport-total.com put it to Marko, the architect of Red Bull's driver program, that Vettel is no longer a top-three driver and he was also beaten psychologically by Charles Leclerc in 2019.
"Unfortunately I have to agree with you," Marko answered.
"But you can't write him off yet."
The Austrian continued: "Perhaps it came as a surprise to him how fast Leclerc is.
"Ferrari is also known to be very political and Sebastian is probably a bit too honest," Marko said. "That's because of his time at Red Bull.
"We are straightforward in how we behave. But I repeat that we are not writing him off yet."
(GMM)