Sebastian Vettel signs a three year deal for Ferrari

This morning the news that most pundits and fans were expecting was finally announced with Ferrari confirming that Sebastian Vettel has signed a three year deal for Ferrari starting in 2015.

Vettel announced at the Japanese GP that he is to leave Red Bull at the end of the season and Ferrari finally revealed the inevitable on Thursday when they confirmed the German will partner Kimi Raikkonen next year, with Fernando Alonso making way.

Two-time World Champion Alonso’s departure was also made official on Thursday, but he is yet to confirm his plans for 2015 with McLaren his likely destination.

Vettel joins Ferrari on a three-year deal after six successful years with Red Bull during which he won four consecutive Drivers’ Championships from 2010-2013 and also helped the team to win four Constructors titles.

In an press statement on the official Ferrari website this morning, Vettel stated the following about his move to the team starting next season as follows:-

“The next stage of my Formula 1 career will be spent with Scuderia Ferrari and for me that means the dream of a lifetime has come true…

'When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it’s an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari. I already got a small taste of what the Ferrari spirit means, when I took my first win at Monza in 2008, with an engine from the Prancing Horse built in Maranello. The Scuderia has a great tradition in this sport and I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top. I will put my heart and soul into making it happen.'

From what Vettel has stated this morning, it is clear that he is delighted with the decision that he has made and that he has achieved his dream of racing for Ferrari in Formula One. Over the past few years, Vettel has come out and stated that if a deal were to be possible, he would consider it on its merits.

And I have to give credit to Vettel for doing so and leaving Red Bull to join them. He has left an winning environment with Red Bull who have supported him in his career for eighteen years but has achieved remarkable success with them and leaves a legacy that the rest of their drivers in their programme looking to achieve what he has and providing a benchmark in the process.

I do understand why Vettel wants to go to Ferrari given all the history, prestige and especially success of Vettel's hero Michael Schumacher achieved during this time with the team. And this will only inspire and motivate Vettel further to replicate his hero's success for himself and get Ferrari back to winning ways once again, but it will take a while for Vettel to settle into the Ferrari way of racing and also producing the results that they crave too.

Ferrari Team principal Marco Mattiacci in a statement to the media this morning believes Vettel and Raikkonen will help the team to return to the front. Mattiacci stated the following:-

'In Formula 1 terms, Sebastian Vettel is a unique combination of youthfulness and experience and he brings with him that sense of team spirit which will prove invaluable when, together with Kimi, they tackle the challenges awaiting us, as we aim to be front runners again as soon as possible.

'With Sebastian, we all share a thirst for victory as well as enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and tenacity; key elements for all the Scuderia members to write together a new winning chapter in the history of Ferrari.'

As Mattiacci has said himself in his statement today, Vettel brings a lot to the Ferrari team in terms of his youthfulness, experience and also success he has achieved within Formula One that will prove very handy indeed when he starts as a Ferrari driver officially next season.

We all know what Vettel can achieve within the sport and by bringing this to Ferrari; this will only help them aim to get back to the front once again. But this will take some time and Ferrari need to give Vettel adequate time to settle into the team in order to get the best out of him.

However with Vettel and Raikkonen in the team, Ferrari have the perfect combination of drivers that they could want and they now to have ensure that the team provides both of them with a competitive car next year and take full advantage of this fact. And let's face it, Ferrari have to improve from this season and cannot afford to have another season like this year.

But overall, it is clear for all to see that Ferrari and Vettel are delighted to be working together on a three year deal starting for 2015. With both sides singing on the same sheet (so to speak), they need to start building on achieving the success that they both crave and get Ferrari back to the front of the grid once again.

But I do think that even though Vettel signing for Ferrari is a good thing, I would have to say that the pressure of racing for Ferrari is going to be a big challenge for him. In the past, we have seen great racing drivers such as Alain Prost and Ivan Capelli crumble under the pressure that is placed upon them by the tifosi while racing for the team.

On the other hand, you can say that Vettel has had experience of this within the Red Bull programme and has managed to succeed expectations and if any driver on the grid can handle this pressure, then Vettel is a driver you would say would be able to deal with this while also delivering on the track as best as he can.

Let us not forget that you can have the best two drivers in the world at Ferrari, but unless you have the car to give them, they won't be able to deliver what they need to achieve. And Ferrari after all the restructuring taking place have got to start at least making sufficient progress to get where they need to be, otherwise what has this all been for?

But you can be sure that Vettel will be using everything at his disposal to try and bring the Ferrari team back to where it needs to be and I do hope that this is the case and that his childhood dream is fulfilled to the best that it can be. And I wish him every success with the Ferrari and look forward to how he will perform over the next three years.

Sarah Jones