'Formula One: Drive to Survive' Season 3: Did Ferrari fire Sebastian Vettel? German set to race for Aston Martin
Spoilers for 'Formula One: Drive to Survive' Season 3
Ferrari had an abysmal 2020 season and it wasn't because of the coronavirus pandemic, rather a troubled relationship with their star driver, Sebastian Vettel. Netflix's fly-on-the-wall documentary 'Formula One: Drive to Survive' Season 3 sheds light on what exactly went wrong in the Ferrari camp and also the future of the German racer who will now be racing for The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One in 2021.
The documentary provides a look at the horrendous Monza Grand Prix the team had. To set the context, Ferrari had a terrible qualifying session on their home turf. The only conditions Italian F1 fans have is for their racers to win at Monza, even if they don't go on to win the Championship by the end of the season.
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The disappointment was writ large on their faces after car issues, which had plagued the Reds throughout the season saw Charles LeClerc finish 13th while Vettel ended 17th. The race was even horrendous. Vettel retired in lap 8 with brake failure, while LeClerc crashed after losing control of the car.
BREAKING: Vettel to leave Ferrari after the 2020 season#F1 pic.twitter.com/nhY4pGQf1e
— Formula 1 (@F1) May 12, 2020
Prior to this, May 2020 saw Ferrari announce they were moving on and dropping Sebastian Vettel. He would eventually be replaced by Carlos Sainz, who was having a decent run with McLaren. While for Ferrari, the move was all about blooding young talent and build a championship team, the way they let go of Vettel came as a rude shock.
"I was surprised when I got the call that the team does not want to continue," Vettel is seen telling the media in the documentary. Presenting his version of the story was Team Principal Mattio Binotto. "I think we all love Seb because he's part of the family," he explained. "But, we felt the necessity to look ahead, to look forward. It's like trying to create foundations for our long-term future." Naturally, the public cold war continued since May and one of the many damages it caused in the aftermath of the announcement was the way the race ended for Ferrari.
Eventually, Vettel signed with Aston Martin and took the place of Sergio Perez who moved to Red Bull Racing to replace Thai-British driver, Alex Albon. Only time will tell whether Ferrari will get back to winning ways and if Vettel makes a mark with a new racing team.
'Formula One: Drive to Survive' Season 3 is available for streaming on Netflix.