London - Martin Moravec - Sebastian Vettel will be dreading Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix after another tale of woe at Silverstone last weekend. The Ferrari divorce is signed but could a separation come earlier than planned?
Sebastian Vettel's strained relationship with Ferrari is there for all to see and the tense atmosphere could get even worse in his final few months with the Formula One team.
The four-time world champion, who will leave the Scuderia at the end of the season after the Italians decided not to renew his deal, finished 12th in Silverstone at the weekend and Sunday's race in Barcelona comes with little time to clear the air.
First Vettel snapped over the radio in Britain, criticizing team strategy.
"I'll hang in there but you know that you've messed up," the German said.
He later added to reporters: "It didn't make any sense."
Then he stomped off the podium during a Ferrari press conference, leaving team-mate Charles Leclerc, who finished fourth, and boss Mattia Binotto to finish up.
"I don't think, from where I am, it can get much worse," the 33-year-old said before leaving the stage.
He started 11th and then spun at the first corner. Binotto said: "Sebastian's position was the result of his first lap incident."
The blame game is already going into overdrive.
In Italy, the influential Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper commented: "Instead of the German admitting his guilt, he blames the car and the strategy. It's time to put on a new record."
In the five races so far in this delayed and coronavirus-impacted season, Vettel has finished no higher than sixth and is 13th in the standings.
It is his worst Formula One season in many respects. In his first full year at Toro Rosso in 2008, he finished eighth overall and stunned the whole sport when winning at Monza to show what a talent he was.
Carlos Sainz is already signed up to replace Vettel next season when Racing Point, as the team morph into Aston Martin, appear to be the German's only option.
But if the relationship deteriorates to such a degree, could Ferrari decide to cut their losses even earlier? It is not yet clear exactly how many races there will be this year because of the pandemic.
If Vettel and Ferrari can't work together, would the Italians be tempted to bring in someone like Nico Hulkenberg short term? He qualified third at the weekend as a stand-in Racing Point driver.
In Ferrari's press release after Sunday's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, the headline simply read: "Charles, fourth down to strategy and bravura."
Vettel was not mentioned until much lower down.
Leclerc is the present and future of Ferrari, while Vettel is very much the past.
dpa