Recently, Ferrari Formula One driver and four-time champion Sebastian Vettel made a bold claim, sending shockwaves through an unsuspecting community: That the Mercedes F1 team’s dominance is “boring.” Vettel also happens to be one of the few people who could do anything about that, yet here we are.
Vettel, perhaps the only one to have noticed that the two Mercedes drivers have finished first and second in all four events so far this season and that Mercedes has won 75 percent of the races run since the 1.6-liter V6 turbo era began in 2014, mentioned the monotony of F1 in recent years, via video footage from the Guardian. (He had a slight smile while saying it, at least.)
We would advise Vettel to just use the races to take a nap, as some might, but that probably wouldn’t work too well on track. From a BBC transcription:
“Boring, isn’t it?” Vettel said. “So boring. It’s not just four races. It has been four years, more or less.”
Vettel went on to say Mercedes is doing “phenomenally well,” although we’re not sure how one can make a detailed performance assessment by just looking at a giant rear wing that’s a straightaway ahead, and that his camp needs to “work harder, work better.” (Vettel’s also struggling to get used to Ferrari’s new car, the SF90, according to Autosport.)
Vettel, who’s finished between third and fifth so far this year, is one of 18 non-Mercedes drivers in F1. Of those drivers, approximately three or four currently have a realistic shot to win—Vettel included, should he get used to his car.
In the context of the world population, that puts Vettel in the 0.0000000005 percent of people who can actually do anything about this “boring” pattern he speaks of. Neither he, nor the rest of them, have yet.
Ah, well. If there’s anything we’ve learned from this exercise, it’s that Vettel should think about running for office once his racing career is over. This kind of approach to problems is the perfect fit.