Formula 1: The end of an era for Ferrari

The 2020 Formula 1 season finale marks the final race of four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel with Ferrari, ending a six-year run.

Before the 2020 Formula 1 season began, Ferrari signed Charles Leclerc to a multi-year contract extension that runs through the 2024 season, and they confirmed that Carlos Sainz Jr. is set to move on from McLaren and partner him on a two-year deal beginning next year.

That effectively made the 2020 season the sixth and final season for four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel with the Scuderia.

Now the 2020 season’s final race weekend is upon us, and Vettel is set to make his 118th and final start behind the wheel of one of the red cars.

Among the active drivers, there is nobody under contract for 2021 who has been with his current team for longer than Vettel has.

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Lewis Hamilton could change that, given the fact that he could and likely will sign a contract extension with Mercedes, the team for which he has competed since 2013.

The only other driver in the field who has competed for his current team for as long or longer than Vettel is Sergio Perez, who has been with Racing Point since 2014 when they were still known as Force India. Ironically, it is Perez whom Vettel is slated to replace when he moves to Racing Point (to be rebranded as Aston Martin) next year alongside Lance Stroll.

Vettel began competing for Ferrari in 2015 after moving on from Red Bull, where he won four consecutive world championships from 2010 through 2013 before a disappointing 2014 season, which marked the beginning of the V6 turbo hybrid era, saw him fail to win a race and get beaten new teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who won three races.

The German driver had initially had a deal with Red Bull to return for another year in 2015, but he was able to get out of that contract to move to the Italian team.

Vettel was never able to join the likes of Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen as a Ferrari world champion, but he did have a good amount of success with the team.

He finished in second place in the driver standings in 2017 and 2018 with five victories in each season, and he secured a total of 14 victories, 55 podium finishes and 12 pole positions.

Unfortunately, his runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2018 came after he appeared to be the clear championship favorite in both seasons. But crucial mistakes down the stretch in both years cost him dearly, and it was  Hamilton, now the only seven-time world champion aside from Schumacher, who capitalized to win the title on both occasions.

Tune in to ESPN at 8:10 a.m. ET tomorrow morning for the live broadcast of Sebastian Vettel’s final Ferrari start in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. He is set to start in 13th place, which is where he currently sits in the driver standings.