Ex-Red Bull driver "went through a period of disillusionment" in 2014; Vettel set for official Ferrari debut on Sunday at Jerez
Thursday 29 January 2015 07:55, UK
Sebastian Vettel considered quitting Formula 1 last year during a period of “disillusionment” with the sport’s new regulations, according to his former team boss Christian Horner.
Vettel entered 2014 on the back of four successive Drivers’ Championship titles, but the first year of the sport’s new turbo era produced a sudden fall from grace for the 27-year-old German as he was outperformed by new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and failed to win a race in a full season for the first time in his career.
To underline the sudden change in narrative at the forefront of F1, Vettel stunned the sport in September by activating an escape clause in his Red Bull contract and signing for rivals Ferrari for 2015, bringing to an end a relationship with the energy drinks firm which stretched back more than a decade.
And ahead of Vettel’s public debut with Ferrari on the opening day of the Jerez test on Sunday, his old Team Principal has said that such was the German's dislike for the new-look F1 last year that he went through a period of reflection over whether he even wanted to continue driving in the sport.
“Seb didn’t enjoy the regulation changes,” Red Bull chief Horner was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “He didn’t enjoy the new engine, the feel from the new system, the power unit, the brake by wire, the lack of downforce.
“You could tell he wasn’t happy. He was preoccupied and to compound that his team-mate won three races. There was that feeling ‘am I enjoying this as much as I thought I was?’
“It was like someone had taken his toy away. It took him a while to get to grips with that. It was not something he was used to. He went through a period of disillusionment about the direction Formula 1 was going in. There was a stage last year when he thought whether he wanted to stop or not, whether he was getting the same level of enjoyment or not and whether or not he wanted to continue.”
During the initial furore over F1’s new quieter engines at the start of last season, Vettel labelled the sport’s sound s*** and routinely complained that too much of a car was now controlled by electronics rather than the driver.
However, Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview with Sky Sports News HQ last week that he expressed to Vettel his disappointment with the German’s attitude and performances during the course of last year . Horner says it was his former driver's return to his driving roots last summer that rekindled his passion for the sport.
“He was just unhappy with the direction Formula 1 had gone. His previous four years had been so successful for him in a car he loved driving – and then suddenly things were very different.
“It raised some questions he had to deal with. He went back to basics and drove a kart in the middle of the year to get back to the bare essence of why he was a grand prix driver and rediscovered his passion for being a grand prix driver."
The Sky Sports F1 Online team will be providing live commentary of all three winter tests, starting in Jerez on Sunday February 1, with live updates from trackside also on Sky Sports News HQ.
