Anyone in any doubt as to how badly Sebastian Vettel felt following his disastrous Italian Grand Prix, need only to have seen the four-time world champion at the subsequent gathering for the celebratory team photograph, an idea that the Italian team has copied from rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.

Clearly not wanting to be there, but under orders, the German did his best to smile for the cameras, shake hands with a few of the crew and then disappear as quickly, and quietly, as possible.

Echoing Lesley Gore, while Monza partied following Charles Leclerc's emotional win, Vettel was in no mood to stick around.

The unforced spin at Ascari was the latest in a long line of mistakes that stretches back to Hockenheim last year when the German went off in the rain while leading.

Indeed, a desperate lunge at Lewis Hamilton at the second chicane just twelve months ago at Monza saw the German spin and incur damage, going on to finish a distant fourth.

At a time the media continues to ramp up the pressure on the German, F1 MD, Ross Brawn, who oversaw all seven of Michael Schumacher's titles, says Vettel needs the full support of his team.

"Only one man in the Ferrari garage had little to smile about on Sunday," says the Briton in his summing-up of the race for the official F1 website. "The four-time world champion had a really difficult weekend.

"In qualifying, he felt he'd been let down by his team mate at the end of Q3 and so was unable to take a shot at getting pole. However, what happened in the race was down to him alone. Sebastian made two mistakes on Lap 6, spinning and then hitting Stroll, and the errors look even worse in light of Leclerc's double victory in Spa and Monza.

"It's an unavoidable fact that no matter who the driver is, and regardless of how good things are in the team, your first rival is always your team mate," Brawn continues. "To a certain extent, Sebastian is experiencing what he felt at Red Bull in his final year there, when he found himself up against Daniel Ricciardo, a youngster setting incredible pace.

"Vettel is clearly one of the greats of our sport," he insists, "you don't win four titles without being so, but at this tough time he really needs the support of the team to regain the confidence he seems to be lacking at the moment.

"That, as well as pushing on with the car development, has to be a priority for Mattia Binotto in the coming weeks. It won't be easy, but it is essential, especially in terms of 2020."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 13/09/2019 1:47

"I'm sure Seb can see similarities in his current situation with that which developed with Mark Webber. Perhaps he needs to toughen up with respect to his team 'mate' maybe not quite to the level of Senna v Prost at McLaren but getting that way."

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2. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 13/09/2019 1:40

"@Tardis40 Ralf ??"

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3. Posted by Tardis40, 12/09/2019 18:56

"I fear that Vettel's day is in the past. He had those five great years at RBR. Could never quite make it at Ferrari. Now he is up against a very fast newcomer. Time to call it a career and make room for Schumacher."

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Vettel needs to regain confidence says Brawn

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