page_title: Sebastian Vettel
section_title: 2019–2020: Difficult ending at Ferrari
hierarchical_section_title: Sebastian Vettel / Formula One career / Ferrari / 2019–2020: Difficult ending at Ferrari
caption_attribution_description: English: Sebastian Vettel, 2019 Chinese GP
context_page_description: Sebastian Vettel is a German racing driver who races in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He is a four-time Formula One World Champion, having won consecutive titles from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull Racing, and is regarded by many as one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, and by some the greatest ever. In addition to holding a number of 'youngest' records in Formula One, Vettel holds the record for the most consecutive race wins, as well as accumulating the third most race victories, podium finishes and the fourth most pole positions.
  Vettel started his Formula One career as a test driver for BMW Sauber in 2006 and made his racing debut with the team at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, replacing the injured Robert Kubica. Already part of the Red Bull programme, he joined Toro Rosso later in the season, and was kept as a driver for 2008. In his first full season in Formula One, he became the then-youngest pole-sitter and race winner at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Vettel was promoted to Red Bull for the 2009 season, and became the youngest driver in history to win the World Drivers' Championship in 2010.
context_section_description: After showing impressive pace throughout pre-season testing in Barcelona, Vettel and his new teammate Charles Leclerc headed to Australia with many pundits believing they had the car to beat for the 2019 season. The opening weekend proved to be difficult, however, as Vettel qualified some seven tenths off pole position in third and finished the race in fourth place. Third-place finishes in China and Azerbaijan followed, as Mercedes continued to dominate. Vettel took pole position in Canada; his first pole in 17 races. Midway though the race, a snap of oversteer caused him to run wide onto the grass. Vettel received a five-second time penalty from the stewards, who believed he had returned to the track "in an unsafe manner and forced [Hamilton] off track". Vettel crossed the line in first place but lost his victory as a result of the penalty. After the race, he swapped the number one and two signs in front of Hamilton's Mercedes and his own car. At the German Grand Prix, Vettel was unable to qualify after a turbo issue, which meant he would start in last place. During a race with mixed weather conditions, Vettel climbed up to second place. In Italy, Vettel spun at the Ascari chicane and when he re-entered the track, he made contact with Racing Point's Stroll. Vettel received a 10-second stop-go penalty and finished in 13th place. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Vettel won on a circuit Ferrari were expected to struggle at. For the first time, Vettel had won five times at the same track. The following race, in Russia, Vettel went from third place on the grid to first place in the first corner. However, radio transmissions suggested that the team wanted to swap their drivers, but with Vettel the quicker driver, he remained in front. Vettel retired soon after with a MGU-K problem.
  Vettel took pole position in Japan, but an abrupt start off the line caused him to momentarily stop before getting away, which allowed Bottas to take the lead; Vettel was not penalized for his jump start. After running in third at the Brazilian Grand Prix for the majority of the race, a safety car allowed Red Bull's Alexander Albon and an aggressive Leclerc to overtake him. He tried to pass his teammate immediately but the two Ferrari's collided, resulting in another retirement for Vettel. He finished fifth in the World Drivers' Championship, and was outscored by a teammate for only the second time across a season.
  Ferrari later announced they would not extend Vettel's contract beyond the 2020 season. Team principal Mattia Binotto explained there was "no specific reason" for the decision, though both parties noted it was an amicable agreement. The season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic as the first ten races of the original calendar were either rescheduled, postponed or cancelled altogether. Ferrari discovered problems on their car following pre-season testing, forcing them to make a major redesign.
  The SF1000 lacked pace as Vettel finished the season's opening race in Austria in 10th place. During the weekend, he was also given a warning for breaching the FIA's COVID-19 protocols after he was seen mixing with members of his former team Red Bull. The following race, at the Styrian Grand Prix, Vettel retired on the opening lap with rear wing damage following a collision with Leclerc.
caption: Vettel in action at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384", "Image DateTime": "2019:11:03 14:48:27", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2360", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "10146", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12797", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1600", "EXIF FNumber": "63/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Action", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:04:12 14:19:22", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:04:12 14:19:22", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "174389/16384", "EXIF ApertureValue": "174021/32768", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "146", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3888", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "10014", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3888000/877", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "432000/97", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4248"}