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Formula 1: 5 drivers fighting for their careers in 2020

By William Dodds

SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Racing Point RP19 Mercedes leads Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR14 Honda on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 29, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
SOCHI, RUSSIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Racing Point RP19 Mercedes leads Pierre Gasly of France driving the (10) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR14 Honda on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Russia at Sochi Autodrom on September 29, 2019 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Second place qualifier Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Second place qualifier Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images) /

Sebastian Vettel

After being outscored and outqualified for the first time since he joined Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel is facing a battle in 2020 if he is to prolong his stay in Formula 1.

As a four-time world champion, it is clear that Vettel does not enjoy being beaten by Charles Leclerc, so it would seem unlikely that he would settle for a spot as the defined number two driver in 2021. It is also unlikely that Vettel would be willing to drop down the grid like his former teammate Kimi Raikonnen has done, so for Vettel, 2020 will be a make or break year.

While Leclerc has been quicker in qualifying this season and accrued more points, the margin between the two drivers has not been vast enough for Vettel to be fully displaced as number one.

Moreover, in recent races, Vettel has shown his speed with a pole position in Japan and by out-qualifying Leclerc in the United States. Vettel also appeared to be faster in race trim in Russia and were it not for mechanical issues, he would have taken the points to be level with or ahead of Leclerc.

Having said that, this season as a whole has shown that Leclerc is probably the faster qualifier, and given his lack of experience and inferior strategies, Leclerc has done well to be ahead of Vettel in the driver standings.

While the Ferrari car has been hard to handle and maximize this season, Leclerc has done a better job than Vettel of stringing together a lap — and a weekend. Vettel is still a top-level driver and will likely be for the next few seasons, but his unwillingness to play second fiddle to Leclerc alongside his substantial salary means that he will need to step up and show his class in 2020. Otherwise, he could be saying goodbye to the sport sooner than we think.

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