To be honest, there have always been mistakes. For the most part however, Sebastian Vettel went on to get the result.

This year, and to some extent last year also, the mistakes have been more frequent however, and costly.

The mistakes that have littered the second half of this season, be it Hockenheim, Monza, Japan or last weekend in Austin - when a red flag misdemeanour cost him three grid places, which in turn led to the necessity to make an early move on Daniel Ricciardo that ended in tears - have cost the German the title and badly dented his reputation.

F1 technical boss, Ross Brawn, who worked with Vettel's hero, Michael Schumacher, as he won all seven of his titles, has admitted that the Ferrari driver is going through a difficult phase in his career.

"On Friday there was a small one (mistake), when he failed to slow sufficiently for red flags, and he paid the price with a three-place penalty," said Brawn. "Then, in the race, he yet again collided with a Red Bull, this time Ricciardo's, and once again Vettel came off worst.

"It was another lost opportunity to close the gap in the title fight, especially when we saw what Raikkonen did with the same car," he added.

"I certainly don't want to put Vettel in the dock, but these incidents can no longer be seen as coincidence," he admitted. "Rather they would seem to indicate that Sebastian is a bit out of sorts at the moment.

"Now, any hope of bringing the drivers' title back to Maranello is dwindling and the time has come to do the maths," said Brawn, who formed part of the Ferrari 'dream team' in the early to mid-2000s. "Their most important task is to work out how to help Vettel make the most of his massive talent.

"You don't become a four-time world champion for no reason and Sebastian has definitely not forgotten how to win," added the Briton. "In a sport as complicated as Formula 1, you only reach your goals if all the pieces of the jigsaw fall into place. If just one piece is missing everything is compromised."

Vettel recently admitted that he was offered the services of a sports psychologist but that he declined. Based on his recent performances - and his demeanour - the German clearly is "out of sorts" and needs all the help he can get to rediscover his mojo. He certainly cannot afford to continue as is.

Before moving to Ferrari in 2015, Vettel was clearly caught out by the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull, which leaves one wondering how he will deal with the impending arrival of Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Tardis40, 23/10/2018 20:14

"Who could blame him, having to sit and watch as one team cruises to 5 consecutive titles solely on the strength of having the best engine."

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2. Posted by The Canadian, 23/10/2018 18:33

"Vettel has always been strong with a Dominant car, starting from the front. He has had challenges when he needs to come from behind, or race mid field. Technically, he's very good, unlike, say, Nico- who had a hitsory of folding under pressure. Seb just tends to screw it in traffic."

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3. Posted by Elf Team Tyrrell, 23/10/2018 15:14

"Over rated and just got lucky with his car whilst others were struggling in previous years. Never has been able to cope with any pressure, from within the team or from rivals. Ok when he is out in front and nobody else too close....but lets face it even Stroll would manage to do that. Petulant too, should have been banned for a couple of races for deliberately driving into Hamilton last year. Ferrari....bless their little cotton socks....have let the wrong driver go this year. "

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4. Posted by imejl99, 23/10/2018 12:52

"We could go into "no race nor championship is won on the first corner, on the first lap of a single race" cliche, but it is lost on any given corner, or lap, or race...

As trivial as it is, most interesting to me is a cycle of what goes around comes around for Lewis - I firmly believe that Vettel lost it at Hockenheim - crashing out from the lead to the gravel in wet conditions, lost it the same way Lewis lost it in China pit entry in 2007. This time Lewis got it back from the rain and gravel, 11 years later.

Only, it was Lewis`s rookie season, and this is Vettel`s 12th, but that is another topic, addressed by Brawn..."

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Brawn: Vettel a "bit out of sorts"

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