Coulthard: Ferrari failed to give Sebastian Vettel enough support

Former F1 driver and now pundit David Coulthard insists Ferrari didn't give Sebastian Vettel enough support on the track. He believes this hindered Vettel's chances of winning the title, while Lewis Hamilton had his wingman Valtteri Bottas.

In an article published on sportsmail, Coulthard was examining why Vettel wasn't close to the 2018 title.

"I just get a feeling that the team haven't supported Vettel in the same way that Lewis has been supported," Coulthard said.

"I think that even though Valtteri has been given a fair crack of the whip, the general feeling at Mercedes is that Lewis is the man. If push comes to shove, he's the one who's going to win more races and challenge for the championship.

"What [Ferrari] did a Monza, allowing Kimi to get pole, and then Vettel ending up running second into the second chicane, and that gives Hamilton a go...things like that put them on the back foot."

Coulthard went on to examine some other areas where Ferrari let their driver down. He points out strategic errors. In qualifying for Austin, they started Vettel on the intermediates. The slicks, which Hamilton had on, proved to be the correct tyre.

"They can't deny that certain strategic decisions have played against Vettel. A combination of that and just generally some unfortunate and unforced errors on his part," Coulthard added.