Vettel is not a mental issue, believes Montoya

The Colombian, winner of seven great prizes of Formula 1, believes that there are technical situations that can cause the difference in performance between Sebastian Vettel Y Charles Leclerc during this season, the first of the Monegasque in the team and the fifth of Vettel as a ferrarist.

Montoya believes that the characteristics of the SF90 or the current generation of Pirelli tires may be detracting from the German in 2019.

"First, I believe that (Vettel) should not like this year's car or tires, which Leclerc best suits," Montoya told Motorsport.com. “Vettel has to suffer to go to the other. Because he has to suffer and is not comfortable, he makes mistakes. When you are not comfortable with the car and push, errors appear. ”

“I don't think it's something mental. It is more a technical issue. To understand, to have someone on their side who finds what is happening. ”

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari with Juan Pablo Montoya

Photo by: Keith Sutton

During the 2019 preseason in Barcelona, ​​Vettel referred to Leclerc "driving the different car" to him, something about which his young teammate barely mentioned that the difference Vettel might have had to do with braking on the SF90.

Montoya compared Vettel's situation with his during the two seasons he ran for McLaren in 2005 and 2006, when different driving styles with his teammate even led to the development of a different front suspension for the Colombian.

Questioned about what Vettel and Leclerc said during the preseason, Montoya said that although Vettel must adapt his driving style, he should only do so to a certain extent so as not to lose the essence of what has made him strong in the past.

“If it is braking, there can be many things, it is not only how one hits the pedal but how it mixes the way of releasing the brake with how much direction it sets. If you release the brakes late, when you give direction the car has another attitude. ”

“It happened to me at McLaren. I had to change the way I slowed down and the car was already doing things other than what I was used to. ”

“Changing the handling is very complicated. Changing what has done fast in the past is very difficult. If you change the piloting, you are still doing well, but you are not as fast as you were before. ”

“Surely you have to adapt to some extent, but learning to go fast in another way is more complicated. It is better to adapt the car to its handling than its style to that of another driver ”.

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After the two consecutive victories of Charles Leclerc in the great prizes of Belgium and Italy, the only ones of Ferrari In 2019 at the moment, Vettel has fallen behind his teammate in the World Cup.

However, Montoya believes that German recovery is possible.

"Insurance. If he wants to do it, he can recover, ”said Montoya. “Obviously he has to get on with the team in Maranello to work harder than ever. The only way is to do much more than what you are doing, do something different.

"He must be used to a way of working, but at the moment it is not working."

Vettel faces next Singapore Grand Prix with 13 points late in the World Cup compared to Leclerc. The German has won four poles and four victories in the circuit Marina bay, including pole and victory with Ferrari in 2015, statistically its best calendar scenario.

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