Sebastian Vettel donned Ferrari overalls for the first time as he took to the team’s Fiorano test track in an F1 car on Saturday, ahead of his move to the team in 2015.
The four-times champion drove a Ferrari F2012 – the very model Fernando Alonso used when he finished second to Vettel in the championship two years ago.
“Obviously it’s already winter time so it was quite cold doing some laps,” said Vettel. “But it was a great feeling,” he added, “it’s always enjoyable to be in the car.”
“Looking back to the years when I was 11, 12 years old, trying to look over the fence and trying to see a glimpse of Michael [Schumacher] running on the track – today I was on the track and I saw the Tifosi around… there is a lot of fairytales about Ferrari and how it feels to drive a red car and so on, and in the end I can only confirm all these fairytales, it’s not just a story, it’s really all a true legend that exists.
“It feels really, really special to become part of that, to sit inside the car, to see the people coming, running to the track and trying to climb the walls to see the car.”
Vettel wore a white helmet bearing the date and slogan “il mio Primo giorno in Ferrari”, meaning “my first day in Ferrari”.
Vettel drives a Ferrari F2012
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Images © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, Lotus/LAT, Williams/LAT, McLaren/LAT, Mercedes/Hoch Zwei, Daimler/Hoch Zwei, Red Bull/Getty, Force India, Sauber, Caterham/LAT, Marussia, Pirelli
Fletch (@fletchuk)
1st December 2014, 17:35
Good luck (you’ll probably need it there)
At least you’re not selling dodgy energy drinks any more.
m
1st December 2014, 21:26
#5 – he is obviously hoping for fifth title.
reiter (@reiter)
1st December 2014, 17:38
People like to whine a lot about how unsightly this year’s cars are, but that F2012 is absolutely hideous. At least this year’s vacuum cleaner had some personality.
Tim M (@tim-m)
1st December 2014, 17:52
I agree. Both the 150˚Italia (2011) and F138 (2013) look way better then the F2012, but the F14T looks like it got its nose bent out of shape. Lately, it seems almost like every other year’s Ferrari is hideous. I wonder if Ferrari will go back to the black wings if Santander isn’t a sponsor any more. I thought that was a much better look.
Gaston (@gastonmazzacane)
2nd December 2014, 6:23
Can’t say I agree. F10, F2006, F2004, F2002, F2000. Beautiful cars.
Tim M (@tim-m)
2nd December 2014, 19:25
Fair enough. I still don’t like the F10, but the 248 F1 (2006) looks miles better than what they currently have; but at the time I thought it was a slight step down from the F2005.
Agreed, the F2004, F2002 and F2000 are all beautiful, but since that was 10 years+ ago, I don’t count it as ‘lately’ :) I feel old–I first started rooting for Ferrari as a kid with the F1/86!
Diego (@ironcito)
2nd December 2014, 10:26
Black trim and a darker shade of red. It seems to me that in the 80s-90s Ferrari used a darker shade, almost like blood, which I like better.
Tim M (@tim-m)
2nd December 2014, 19:30
I seem to recall that they changed the red color a while ago to a lighter shade to look better on TV. The darker shade with the black trim is my favorite, and it would seem that some agree: my avatar is from The Museum of Modern Art here in New York, and they picked Alain Prost’s 641 for a good reason!
Rigi (@rigi)
1st December 2014, 17:56
the exact opposite is the case, in my opinion.
socksolid (@socksolid)
3rd December 2014, 17:59
I’ve always thought the 2012 ferrari with its extremely angular nose was not a bad looking car.
Yuriy
1st December 2014, 17:39
He looks great in red!
I would like to see Ferrari recovery and 2-3 more titles for Vettel there.
Biggsy
1st December 2014, 17:49
I think there are plenty drivers who, looking at their skill, deserve to taste some success too, so I wouldn’t be too disappointed to see Vettel remain at 4 titles.
Whatever happens, it’s always interesting to see what happens when big drivers change teams.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
1st December 2014, 23:26
+ 100, 4 titles is more than enough. Maybe some constructor championships for Ferrari? That would be nice.
Dick Tracy
2nd December 2014, 6:37
Deserve???? What does that mean? If they “deserve” to win they would win. The best driver in the best car wins, period. I say, let him win four more. If this series were about being the best, he probably would, but now this is the hybrid series, who knows, who cares.
Traverse
2nd December 2014, 9:21
Quite frankly, he’s fortunate to have 4 titles. He’s good, just not 4 WDC good.
Cece
4th January 2015, 0:17
That makes no sense. If he has 4 WDCs then he is 4 WDC good. Since there are only 3 other men with 4 WDCs, and all of them have finished their very long careers, there is really no one to compare him too. He did it by the time he was 26 years old which is incredible. He is 4 WDC better so far. Let’s see how he finishes up his career. In 2 of those years he had by far the best car (so Schumi, Fangio and Prost did as well). The other two were competitive for him and he still won. So I think people need to stop belittling his achievements.
Bobby (@f1bobby)
1st December 2014, 17:54
I wonder how it compares to his 2012 RBR.
Michael Baumert (@nothingreal)
1st December 2014, 18:02
yeah I was wondering about that as well.. 2012 was pretty tight between RBR and Ferrari.. (or rather Seb and Fernando).. must be kind of weird to get into the red car that was so close behind.
tezza (@terro55)
1st December 2014, 19:37
I wonder how he compares to Alonso in the F2012, the engineers would have some interesting data to pore over, actual factual data comparing the two in equal machinery, and we will never get to see it.
Yuiy
1st December 2014, 20:29
good point indeed!
but F2012 was built around Alonso..
I would like to see them both in Vettel’s V6 Red Bulls, could be more interesting battles for championships in 2010-2013
IDR (@idr)
2nd December 2014, 8:15
It’s funny to see how people think about cars built around one driver, mainly when talking about a team who has so many problems in correlation between what they design and what the real car behave on track.
andy c
3rd December 2014, 14:36
F2012 wasn’t built around Alonso, it was designed to go as fast as possible. What you say is a myth according to Rob Smedley.
Atticus (@atticus-2)
1st December 2014, 18:08
The way his facial expression is lit up, it reminds me a lot to the ‘old’ Seb of 2008-2010 – it’s weird to realise now that he slowly but surely grew a bit… tired? Of the way things were at Red Bull. Not just in 2014, but the above expression was not there for the last 2-3 years either.
It’s a good thing how he genuinely seems to be impressed by finally getting to be part of the ‘legend’ that is the most decorated team in F1 history, but… he’ll need some otherworldly act to get the Prancing Horse back to championships. Even his direct predecessor, arguably the best driver of this era, couldn’t manage it before, so…
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st December 2014, 21:31
Exactly! He looked like a child in a candy shop! He seems so motivated, I think he mentioned somewhere he’s going to learn Italian: let’s say that’s not the ‘Kimi aproach’.
If Vettel really can take Ferrari back to its glory days, it would be very special. It wouldn’t taste the same if Alonso had done that.
Nathan (@il-ferrarista)
1st December 2014, 23:43
Why wouldn’t it taste the same?? :/ Alonso was on par with MSC, relativey speaking, but Ferrari disappointed him badly over the years.
Cece
4th January 2015, 0:37
I think he means if Ferrari had been making championships the last 5 years, it would not be as special for the next guy to keep it going. But as it is, he will have to help push the team back up to the top.
David-A (@david-a)
2nd December 2014, 2:23
Thought he knew some Italian from his STR days?
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
2nd December 2014, 5:41
@paeschli
He was already speaking in Italian with mechanics and learning it as well.
And as you put it he was just like a kid in candy shop.
American F1
2nd December 2014, 14:48
Honestly he looks like he did about 5 years ago with RBR; He seems very excited to be there and it’s obvious this is a dream come true for him. I would love to hear his thoughts on a comparison between the F2012 and the RB8. I truly hope he can build the team back to its winning ways again.
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
1st December 2014, 18:09
I’m already dreaming about hearing German and Italian National anthem at Monza’s podium ceremony. But I know it is going to take sometime.
Giggsy11 (@giggsy11)
1st December 2014, 21:56
Its funny because even though I’m English I know those National Anthems off by heart now as I grew up watching the podium ceremonies :)
Mayank (@mjf1fan)
2nd December 2014, 6:16
Even I’m an Indian and I recognise these two national anthems very quickly, they are so much etched in my memory. :)
Dessi
2nd December 2014, 21:04
Just watched Abu Dhabi 2010 again and I was once again thinking “It feels so wrong hearing the Austrian anthem after the German. It’s only appropriate to hear the Italian after the German.”
Alefosi27
1st December 2014, 18:22
Following in the footsteps of Schumi!
Buon fortuna Seb!
Looking forward to his ‘own’ helmet design, Red Bull-less.
Paint by JMD or Uffe designs… i hope Uffe since Kimi is already their.
Easier for logistics.
Jarnooo (@jarnooo)
2nd December 2014, 7:01
Doesn’t matter what design he chooses, he’s going to change it every race anyway lol.
gDog
2nd December 2014, 12:21
@jarnooo
[quote]“my first day in Ferrari”[/quote]
I’m worried this year he’s aiming for a new design every day!
sumedh
1st December 2014, 18:29
I don’t see a smile on his face for some reason! Red suits him though!!
One of the happiest ‘first drive in a Ferrari’ pictures is one of Fisichella:
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/fisi_ferr_2009_470150.jpg
I had hoped the Vettel picture would be happy like this one. Let’s hope there are more smiles later on in 2015 than now.
anonymouscoward (@anonymouscoward)
1st December 2014, 20:14
He’s German, it’s too inefficient to smile like that.
MattDS (@mattds)
1st December 2014, 22:33
@sumedh if you don’t see him smile, you should really rewatch the video.
Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
1st December 2014, 18:48
It’s going to take me a long, long time to get used to Seb in red. It just doesn’t look right!
Meander
1st December 2014, 19:28
Same here, it looks totally wrong! Although, I bet by this time next year, any pictures of him in his red bull colours will seem old and dated.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st December 2014, 21:32
I already love it! :P
HK (@me4me)
1st December 2014, 19:22
To me it seems Vettel has been unmotivated all year, for alot of reasons. He had his child take care of, Redbull had a terrible pre-season, he didn’t like the car/engine/sound to begin with .. and then his car broke then every other race. But now, he starts a new chapter. Hopefully he will be back to his old optimal form again. I find it very interesting to see how he will perform at Ferrari. Hopefully he can take some wins next year.
George (@george)
1st December 2014, 19:28
It seemed like ’13 was the end of an era for him, the way he came on the radio saying ‘we have to remember these days..’ etc.
I agree I hope ’14 was a blip and he can be back to his best next year, if he is there could be some interesting results.
Kroon (@kroonracing)
1st December 2014, 20:24
I find it very likely that Vettel has lacked motivation. He is 4 times WDC and as soon as he realized that 2014 was not going to add another WDC, his motivation was down. Like Raikkonen, being 2nd or 20th probably doesn’t make too much of a difference for him.
But I am also certain that neither of them is content by racing mid-field, or in finding success in beating their team-mate to 5th place. I am absolutely confident they will work relentlessly to improve the team and the car, until they need to beat the teammate to become 1st.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st December 2014, 21:34
I don’t now who it was, but a driver once said the most impressing thing about Schumacher was that he stayed motivated enough to win those 5 championships back to back. I really hope we see the same face on Vettel’s as in Italy 2008 next year.
Sven (@crammond)
2nd December 2014, 0:18
It was in Coulthards commentary, I think on one of the 2011-races. He went on to explain Hakkinen was completely burned out after two championships, and in the beginning of 2000 Hakkinen said something along the lines of “This year, you have to do it. I can´t anymore.” to Coulthard.
Diego (@ironcito)
2nd December 2014, 10:41
Indeed. These are millionaire young men, it must be tempting to go out and enjoy life instead of training every day, getting up early, working, being on a diet, etc. That’s why I find it impressive when an athelete stays at the top and motivated for a long time, like Roger Federer.
John H (@john-h)
1st December 2014, 22:49
I’m not so sure. I think a good performance in a poor(ish) car this season would have cemented his legacy much more than 2013 did to be honest. It’s something that Alonso has reiterated, and this can’t have gone unnoticed.
Despite what Eddie Jordan and others have said, this move is a good one for Vettel however. If he can win another title in a different team it will silence the doubters (yes they still exist) and put him up there with the greats.
tezza (@terro55)
1st December 2014, 21:02
The problem with Seb in 2014 was he and Suzie could not get along , she didn’t like him and he thought she was a proper b!t*h, if only she could have been more like Kinky Kylie she had a good firm rear end. Remember Hungry Heidi, they had there problems at the at start but they come good in the end. The twins Luscious Liz and Randy Mandy good girls and who can forget Abbey. Then along comes Suzie the home wrecker and ruins everything, wasn’t she a fail five fail five and a temperamental thing she refused to even try and have fun in Australia, Austria or Monaco . And to top it off she was lazy had no drive no get up an go . It was all very emasculating for seb, Renault should never of given Suzie a cucumber!
James Whiteley (@james)
4th December 2014, 0:51
Brilliant!
Cece
4th January 2015, 0:45
I think what happened to his friend Schumi also took a huge toll on him. His eyes were watering when talking about it during the tests to the media. I think it hit him really hard which didn’t likely help his state of mind.
Heiden Hinneberg
1st December 2014, 19:36
I’m sure he was discreetly bored of driving an Infiniti for promo’s.
Biggsy
1st December 2014, 21:01
Hahah, that’s true! :) Driving Ferraris for promos definitely beats driving Infinitis. :)
Oli (@dh1996)
1st December 2014, 19:52
Honestly, this hurts so much more than I thought it would :(
KeithR (@)
1st December 2014, 19:53
It’s in at the deep end for Seb, it seems to me. Ferrari already hate being 4th in the wcc, midfield on the new smaller grid, but next year Ricciardo and Bottas will be even better and McLaren will have Alonso.
Williams’ car could well be another step up under Symonds and why wouldn’t the Honda engine be better than the Ferrari as well, with their free hand? Mac’s car will be Prodromou’s, while Allison is trying to juggle Kimi’s need for a pointy front end with Seb’s need for a nailed-down rear.
That’s before we even get to having a sponsor for a TP and the contrast between the stability and slick organisation at Red Bull with the politics and chaos at the Scuderia. And of course it’s Ferrari, the most massively self-important team in F1, who may not take kindly to any impertinence from young Sebastian.
I reckon Nando knew what he was leaving; though Seb has time on his side, at least.
Robbie (@robbie)
1st December 2014, 22:37
Yeah fair comment, but I have to assume SV needed the change, so I won’t be surprised if he is reveling in the challenge. Yeah he has time, and likely knows it’s going to take some. He’s also already got 4 WDCs so I’m sure those will hold for a while as he enjoys doing what he loves at the most established team in F1. I just have this feeling we won’t be hearing much in the way of impertinence from young Seb, but rather a revived, experienced asset to the team as they go through some changes to find their way back to the top. Sure FA knows what he’s leaving, although, not entirely, since he can’t know what the new car will be like, nor can he know the influence even Seb has not yet had a chance to instill.
KeithR (@)
1st December 2014, 23:36
Don’t get me wrong @robbie, I respect Seb for making the move. I’m just pondering what to expect.
I reckon Nando would have some of the inside story on next year’s car, the gist of the dyno figures and aero numbers, and he preferred to take a chance at McLaren who weren’t impressive last season and are headed by you-know-who.
On impertinence I’m talking about Ferrari’s perception. Nando had his ear tweaked, and I can foresee some of that for Seb if he carries on with his “do something” “tough luck”approach that Red Bull used to roll with. How will Seb respond to that?
Robbie (@robbie)
2nd December 2014, 0:10
@lockup Fair comment again, and I didn’t take from your post that you didn’t respect Seb. Personally I think FA was frustrated, and this after several years with them where most agree he was giving all he could from his end, and after all, look at the changes they have made ie. acknowledging that they need to do better, need to shake things up. Maybe FA had earned some cache to get snarky out of frustration.
What I was suggesting was that imho we may not hear “do something” nor “tough luck” at least not next year, as SV is embarking on a new chapter and new relationships and I look to see if it is a different Seb who, not unlike LH, will be away from the nest, and eager to flourish and grow in a new light. Put another way, if he still carries on as you ponder I think that will be sad and I will then hope they tweak his ear like there’s no tomorrow. He needs patience and understanding as he knows exactly where Ferrari are right now, and I think he’ll bring that along with all his other abilities.
I was 100% behind LH moving to Merc and away from Mac as I thought he needed to leave the nest and would have a great chance with an important fresh start. Let’s see how SV does as I think there are some similarities in terms of leaving behind baggage and thus being revived in a whole new setting.
KeithR (@)
2nd December 2014, 8:27
@robbie I agree they all need to leave the nest, still I think Seb is up against it. I don’t think it’s like Lewis who left for performance after being persuaded on that basis by Ross Brawn.
Seb left for a challenge, perhaps a romantic challenge, to an organisation that looks a bit dysfunctional these days, and at a level that is out of any driver’s reach.
Also he left Red Bull losing to his teammate. Ferrari could easily drop to 5th in the wcc next year, and then he’ll need to survive the blame game. Does he have the unique properties of Teflonso? :)
Anyway respect to him, it’s good for F1.
TMF (@)
2nd December 2014, 7:38
@lockup Imo, ALO didn’t leave because he knows how bad the car is going to be but that it was a more complicated story that drove him out. Besides the lack of performance he also didn’t get the technical folks he wanted and a few other assurances – besides Ferrari laid out a plan that virtually makes it impossible to fight for championships in the next 2-3 years. Vettel has the patience because of his age and wants to take up the challenge of being part of that medium-term plan, ALO wants to win asap, so he goes to McLaren whose plan is 1 year ahead of that from Ferrari.
KeithR (@)
2nd December 2014, 8:58
@tmf42 Yeah I see your point and I agree Nando needs a quicker solution than Seb. I’m not sure about the plan concept though, tbh. Mattiachi was totally and obviously wrong, and why would Arrivabene be any better? Why isn’t The Plan to have a better car with a better engine asap? They’ve had Fry and Allison in place for long enough now.
Consider Aldo Costa. Blamed and sacked, but now part of the happy success machine at Mercedes. They need the right people in the right roles, properly integrated and supported, and recent (post-Todt/Brawn) history is that they can’t get the top right never mind the rest.
The organisation has some fundamental problems. I think Alonso could see this, but Vettel is young and idealistic. That’s appealing, but I do feel it’s good he has his 4 wdc’s in his pocket already.
TMF (@)
2nd December 2014, 10:58
@lockup the thing is that McLaren knew already last year (with the Honda decision) that they will have to regroup while Ferrari only realized it 2014 with the mediocre F14T – McL started hiring last year while most new technical folks at Ferrari will start only over the winter resp. join in 2015 which puts them 1 year behind. And I guess Marchionne agreed with you – because imo, sacking SD and eventually LDM was his doing. He realized that decisions like firing Costa were wrong and it was time to put others in charge. And putting everyone into the right position (like you also correctly mentioned) takes time – that’s why I think Mattiacci was also just a stop gap solution, to start the rebuilding process and make a few unpopular decisions in order to make the arrival easier for his successor easier – just like his name suggests Arrivabene (arrives good) :) – All that drove ALO away because I think he wanted all efforts to focus on the car and not waste anything on regrouping.
Robbie (@robbie)
2nd December 2014, 13:18
@lockup I suppose if ‘Telfonso’s’ properties are that unique, then the short answer is no, Seb does not have those. So it will certainly be interesting to watch if the blame game arises, but I will be surprised if that happens next year. I see it as a growing/building year for them. Also, you are portraying SV as young and idealistic but in spite of his age I’m not sure a bloke with 4 WDCs worth of experience should be categorized that way, as in, he’s been around, he knows the lay of the land at Ferrari, and he’s gone for it nonetheless, eyes wide open, and…he left RBR by his own choosing. He decided Ferrari is now better for him in spite of their dysfunction, so, not that you might not turn out to be right, but I’d be surprised if, at least for the first year and perhaps far enough into his second to see if the car is still a relative dog, we hear whining from him. He has made his own bed so I won’t sympathize with him if he starts publicly saying “do something.” I’ll likely say “tough luck” to the television if that happens.
KeithR (@)
2nd December 2014, 20:01
@tmf42 Yeah I just feel Arrivabene is another stopgap solution. He’ll be good politically, that’s it as far as experience goes.
@robbie I don’t think I’m expecting Seb to whine, when he coped with pretty solid dignity this past year. I just wonder if he’ll be too demanding, and how well the comparison with Nando will go, if the car suits Kimi better next year.
Can’t wait to see anyway. Ferrari vs McLaren could be the fight to watch.