Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel back in the ‘spin’ of things in Bahrain

By Asher Fair | Apr 1, 2019

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - MARCH 31: Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF90 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 31, 2019 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

Following a spin and incident-riddled 2018 Formula 1 season, Sebastian Vettel got back to his 2018 ways and spun out late in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The 2018 Formula 1 season was filled with unforced spins and incidents for Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, which ultimately resulted in him throwing away a boatload of points, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton gaining a boatload of points relative to Vettel and Vettel throwing away his chances of beating Hamilton to five career Formula 1 championships.

The 31-year-old German got back in the “spin” of things in the second race of the 21-race 2019 season, the Bahrain Grand Prix, throwing away a potential top two finish in the process.

In a battle between Vettel and Hamilton for second place on lap 38 of the 57-lap race around the 15-turn, 3.363-mile (5.412-kilometer) Bahrain International Circuit road course in Sakhir, Bahrain, the two drivers nearly collided on multiple occasions. Vettel, who entered this battle in second with Hamilton behind him in third, maintained second ahead of the five-time champion.

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But the 33-year-old Briton finally passed Vettel, and a split-second later, Vettel found himself spinning across the track. This resulted in him falling back in the field, and his front wing ended up being damaged and flying off of his car in spectacular fashion a short time later, causing him to make an unscheduled pit stop. He ended up finishing in fifth place while Hamilton went on to win it.

But as stated, Vettel has become no stranger to spinning out, specifically over the course of the last one-plus seasons, so it could not be more fitting that he has already done so through the first two races of the 2019 season to cost himself and Ferrari a chunk of valuable points.

Take a look at the numerous unforced spins and wrecks in which Vettel was involved throughout the 2018 season that resulted in him throwing away a boatload of points.

Vettel blew his chance to win last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix by making a far too aggressive move in an attempt to take the lead from Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas late in the race. He ended up finishing this race in fourth place while Bottas was forced to retire with a puncture that the right rear tire of his car sustained a few laps later with under three laps remaining in the race.

On the first lap of the French Grand Prix, Vettel caused a collision with Bottas and was only able to rally to finish in fifth place. Perhaps most notably, he crashed on his own with a huge lead late in the German Grand Prix, a wreck that completely changed the complexion of the 2018 driver and constructor championship battles.

Vettel then went on to spin out early in the Italian Grand Prix, the Japanese Grand Prix and the United States Grand Prix. He finished these races, in fourth, sixth and fourth place, respectively.

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Will Sebastian Vettel ever fix the underlying issue, whatever it is, that has caused him to spin out on a regular basis in Formula 1 races since last season? These instances are becoming far too frequent, and they are severely damaging not only his chances to compete for a fifth career championship but Ferrari’s chances to compete for a record 17th constructor championship.

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