Rivola did not know what happened to Vettel in 2018

Massimo Rivola has revealed, he does not “know what happened” to Sebastian Vettel in 2018 after he once again conceded the Championship lead to Lewis Hamilton, allowing the Mercedes driver to win a fifth world title.

Vettel had led going into the German Grand Prix but ended up 88 points behind the Brit after he won just one race since a victory at the British Grand Prix.

In the fall out since Maurizio Arrivabene left Ferrari and Charles Leclerc has joined heaping even more pressure for Vettel to perform.

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport Massimo Rivola said: “I don’t know what happened.

“Every athlete needs the perfect balance to be at his best.

“I don’t know the Vettel of 2018 — my Vettel was different.

“I only hope that (Charles) Leclerc stays as he is,” Rivola added.

Following Arrivabene’s departure, Mattia Binotto has been appointed as the new team boss in his place and Rivola gave him a few words of good luck.

“I hope Mattia can work with serenity, but that’s not easy at Maranello.

“He certainly has all the qualities to succeed.”

The former head of the Ferrari driver academy is now apart of the Aprilia MotoGP team and he spoke about leaving the Scuderia: “It’s never easy to leave Ferrari.

“But Aprilia is a nice new challenge.”