De la Rosa: Ferrari didn't defend Vettel in his time of need

Vettel and Ferrari started the season in fine form, for the first time in this turbo hybrid era the Reds seemed to have the better of Mercedes, but a combination of the Silver Arrows and Lewis Hamilton at his peak conspired against the Scuderia, their cause not aided by a slew of self-induced mistakes during the crucial latter half of the season.

De la Rosa gave his opinion on where the Reds got it wrong to El Confidencial, "During a driver's career mistakes are made and your team is obliged to protect you, even more so at Ferrari, and if they don't then the pressure on the driver intensifies and becomes very difficult for him to handle."

"I remember when he crashed out in Germany, that race was won by Hamilton from 14th on the grid. This was a very telling blow to Vettel because it was he who made the mistake that everyone saw."

"At that time of need, I didn't see the team defending their driver. I did not see it... Then came Monza, where Hamilton dramatically overtakes him and then wins the race."

"I think given the pressure that Vettel was under at that moment, I would have expected public defence of the driver by his team. Maybe he got support internally, but there needed to be proof of this support in public to relieve the pressure, especially from the Italian media."

"At times like this, it's harder to win with Ferrari. The moment something goes wrong it is very difficult to be focused and keep a cool head," explained De la Rosa who spent a couple of years as a development driver for the sport's most successful team.

As much as Ferrari messed up their campaign, Mercedes, in contrast, weathered the early punches but, as they tend to do, the World Champions dug deep under pressure and Hamilton raised his game to yet another level in the latter half of the season. By Mexico, he had bagged his fifth title with two rounds still remaining.

De la Rosa acknowledged, "Mercedes, and especially Hamilton, have been at a spectacular level. This is the best Hamilton we have seen in his career. Not only because of his speed but mainly because he has been in control."

"He managed tyres very well, knows how to overtake clinically and spectacularly, he has not made a single mistake and that why he has won despite not having the best car in many of the races. On a regular basis, the Ferrari was the best car in the race trim this year," added the Spaniard.

De la Rosa is not alone in his assessment of what went wrong with Ferrari and Vettel during this campaign as fellow former F1 driver turned pundit David Coulthard echoed the sentiment that Ferrari went AWOL when their driver needed them most.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2018/11/01/coulthard-ferrari-did-not-support-vettel-enough/