‘Vettel’s still got it’, but needs support

Jamie Woodhouse
Mark Webber believes Sebastian Vettel has "still got it", but would benefit from more support at Ferrari.

Mark Webber believes Sebastian Vettel has "still got it", but would benefit from more support at Ferrari.

Ex-Formula 1 racer Mark Webber believes Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel has “still got it”, but his former team-mate needs more support from his team.

Mercedes have been unstoppable so far in 2019, winning all eight races, and that has left Vettel 76 points behind Championship-leader Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel could have claimed victory at the Canadian GP if it wasn’t for an error and subsequent penalty when defending his race lead from Hamilton, while in Bahrain he spun again while battling Hamilton for position.

This has created a swirl of attention for the German, with rumours flying around that he is set to retire, rumours which the 31-year-old denies, while questions have also been raised over whether he still has what it takes to challenge for the World Championship.

Webber raced alongside Vettel at Red Bull when he was at the peak of his successes, claiming four-consecutive Drivers’ titles between 2010-13.

Though Vettel hasn’t won a race since Germany 2018, Webber believes his former team-mate has “still got it” and that he would benefit from a little more support from the Scuderia.

“I think he needs a couple more lieutenants, he needs to have less responsibility in the team and just more reassurance that the Monday to Friday stuff is going to be dealt with,” he told Reuters.

“Seb’s still has got it, but it’s a real challenge to stay ahead against a Mercedes-Lewis Hamilton factor week in and week out.”

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