Sebastian Vettel’s former team-mate Mark Webber believes the German will be better off at Ferrari, as a new environment will push him to “get more out of himself”.
The four-time champion struggled last season and reportedly considered quitting the sport before he finally decided upon joining Ferrari. That will provide “fresh motivation” according to Webber.
“Seb’s not a silly guy and he realised that he needed fresh motivation and a new change and I think the decision was made very early, probably before the [2014] season even started to be honest,” he told the Herald Sun.
The Australian, who famously fell out with Vettel during their time together at Red Bull, also believes the energy-drinks owned team will miss his experience as it is now relying on Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat to lead the team going forward.
“The line is not ‘they won’t miss Vettel’, the line is that when he wants to do something else and be in a different environment, then he is better off going somewhere he might feel he will get more out of himself.
“That’s definitely a question for the team halfway through the season, whether they are missing some of that experience,” he added.
“They are lacking a little bit of continuity at Red Bull now – there are a few people who have left the team.
“So that will be interesting to see how technically good the car is over the course of a full season, not just at the start.
“Mercedes are the clear favourites,” reckons Webber. “They had a great season last year and should come out of the gates very strongly.”
