ferkan wrote: ↑02 Oct 2019, 15:37
Phil wrote: ↑02 Oct 2019, 07:08
As much as i like Vettel, i never thought he was as adaptable as some other drivers, i.e. Hamilton or Alonso. I used to put it down to “narrow operating window”. Give a driver like that the perfect car to his liking and he will perform extraordinary. To a certain degree, Button was just like that too. The only difference is Button had that car to hinself for a little more than half a season in 2009 - Vettel had it for most of his career at RedBull.
That car was so planted, the blown diffusor era just suited his style perfectly. Mean while, you would see drivers like Hamilton and Alonso seemingly over driving their cars to miraculously split or beat the dominant RedBulls to pole.
In 2014 for the first time, we saw Vettel driving a completely different car and his team mate beat him. I’d also argue that these last few years (2017 and beyond), the car was also not quite a perfect match for Vettels driving style, hence the overdriving and costly mistakes..
This is not to say that Vettel isnt an extraordinary driver when all the pieces fall into place. To me however, it is evident that he is not at one with the car he is driving now and he is facing a team mate who can just perform better with it. Give that Ferrari a more planted and stable rear, more downforce and Vettel will improve.
I'm wondering what you are basing this on? Because, IMO only 2014 could be argued as being "outline" year.
After 4 years of very dominant RBs, of RBs with much more DF then other competitors, he got into car that was - by design, more on a slippery side. This is because rule changes in 2014 made cars slower in corners, but faster in straights. You can actually make a case of Vettel not being 100% duo to rule changes, but not in 2015 onwards.
2015/2016 because he had enough time to get used to a new cars. 2017-2019 because these cars have more DF then ever. Him being outperformed by Leclerc, especially on one lap pace in this way, is extraordinary. He still has strong race pace and knows how to work the tires, but when team mate beats you 9-0 in last 9 rounds with 0.4+ seconds on average...that is way to much to be ignored.
You are right, the recent cars have more downforce than ever - however i think Vettels ‘inability’ to extract the most from the car stems more from balance and how balanced the rears are. If you are lacking the confidence because the car is instable in how you drive it, it’s always going to be an uphill battle to get close to the cars ultimate limit.
To a certain point, the Ferrari this year is exactly rather instable at the rear, something Vettel has noted in interviews when saying that he isnt feeling one with the car.
This is where i think some drivers are just better at driving around problems and excelling in particular difficult circumstances (i.e. rain).
I also think that Vettel perhaps didnt quite show the true pace of the car in the last few years - neither did Kimi. Just imagine it this year: if Kimi were still driving that second car, we would probably be applauding Vettel for performing “miracles”. Yet because we can see what Leclerc can do with it, we are having a very different perception and to a certain degree it is now also putting a question mark over his relative performances these last few years when teamed up with a clearly worse team-mate (sorry Kimi).
Again, not to say Vettel isnt a good driver. Given the right car, he might be the fastest. But i do think he has a “narrower comfort and performance zone” than some other drivers. But this is something i think that can be overcome, with experiencd, adaptability and growth.
but your 56 points invention is about equally grounded in reality so i'll leave you alone now 
