Spielberg bei Knittelfeld (Austria) (AFP)
The crisis of the new coronavirus and its consequences, including the postponement of the change of technical regulations of F1 to 2022, decided Ferrari not to extend Sebastian Vettel's contract in 2021, explained the main team Mattia Binotto Friday.
Although other pilots then contacted the Scuderia, "we always said during the winter, in private and in public, that it was our first choice, which I confirm," said the Italian during a virtual press conference on the sidelines of the first Grand Prix of the season in Austria.
"What has happened since? The coronavirus and the pandemic, which have changed the whole world, not just motorsport or F1," he continued.
To preserve the stables financially, their spending limit in force from next year has been lowered, the change in regulations planned for 2021 has been postponed to 2022 and the single-seaters "almost frozen" for 2020 and 2021.
"On top of that, the season hadn't started, so Seb didn't have the opportunity to hit the track to show us how motivated he was to drive for Ferrari," said Binotto.
"So Ferrari ended up reconsidering its position. We made a decision, our decision is our responsibility and we announced it to him," he said, confirming the words of the German driver, who had hinted the day before that the separation had not been done by mutual consent, as the official version had previously intended.
"I heard that he was surprised. I remember that he was surprised, yes, I understand, it's quite normal," concluded Binotto. "Although he accepted our decision, I recognize that even today he is not fully satisfied with it, which is normal and obvious."
The announcement of the separation of Vettel and Ferrari had taken everyone by surprise in mid-May, while the 2020 season, which should have started in mid-March in Australia, was delayed by the pandemic of new coronavirus.
It finally starts this weekend in Austria, on the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, the first of a series of eight closed-door races in Europe until early September.
© 2020 AFP