1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has described Sebastian Vettel’s final season with Ferrari as “agony”, and the Canadian has suggested that the Scuderia favoured Charles Leclerc over the four-time World Champion.
“It was a very tough year for Vettel. It was agony for him actually and he will be happy to go home. He can now recharge the batteries and start thinking about next year,” Villeneuve told Sky Sports Italia.
“Vettel has done everything for Ferrari, but in recent years you saw that Ferrari started doing everything for [Charles] Leclerc. Even the car was made for him.
“Vettel didn’t get a good car this year, but he did get it from Ferrari in the past. But in those moments, he made too many mistakes. This year the problem was the team and the car, of course.
“Before that he was the hero and the one who had to help move Ferrari forward. After that it was all about Leclerc,” Villeneuve added.
However, despite Ferrari’s woes, Vettel was still the second-highest paid driver on the F1 grid in 2020, so Villeneuve believes “Vettel can at least look at his bank account and laugh.”
Specifically, it is believed that Sebastian Vettel pocketed over $40 million from Ferrari in 2020 alone – and he reportedly earned a similar amount each year over the course of his time with the Scuderia.