Vettel, Ferrari should split up now

Did Ferrari purposely screw Vettel again by pitting him early and right behind traffic? There are rumors they are sabotaging his car too

(GMM) Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel should split immediately.

That is the view of former Ferrari driver and F1 legend Gerhard Berger, after tensions between Vettel and the Maranello team continued to flare on Sunday.

"You know that you've messed up," the quadruple world champion said on the radio during the Silverstone race.

He was referring to Ferrari's decision to pit Vettel so that the German didn't hold up Charles Leclerc.

"We didn't have the courage to let Charles overtake me, even though he was on a different strategy," Vettel told reporters afterwards.

"They preferred to call me into the pits to get around the whole thing but I could have done a good ten or more laps. The strategy was ruined.

"Before the race we talked about that exact situation – to not do that – and then we did it. There was simply no reason for the pit stop," he added.

Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto, however, said Vettel has been struggling with his car for the past two weekends at Silverstone, and on Sunday "his spin didn't help him".

"I don't believe Sebastian's faith has gone," he told Sky Italia.

However, he rejected Vettel's criticism of the strategy: "I don't think there is much to say about that.

Binotto must hate paying Vettel his $2 million check for every race he drives for Ferrari

"Maybe we had to box earlier than expected, but we knew he would take that time back.

"It allowed Charles to complete his comeback in the race," Binotto added. "Overall it was the right choice for the team, and we feel that we did not punish Sebastian by doing so.

"His race was disturbed by his spin – that was the key. Not our strategy.

"Sebastian has had a hard time, but Charles' performance was commendable. This is a young guy in whom Ferrari has invested and with him we have a further agreement," the Italian continued.

"I think he (Leclerc) is driving really, really well, and that's worth underlining," said Binotto.

No matter what, the situation proves that all is not well in the relationship between Ferrari and Vettel, who are set to part at the end of the season.

"Seb's radio message shows how tense the situation is," said 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.

"But he needs to keep fighting, also as a signal to his possible future team. He has to hit his fist on the table at Ferrari and ask for a new car."

Berger, though, has a different solution.

"For the mood in the respective teams, it would be best to switch to the 2021 lineups now," the Austrian told Sport1.