Sebastian Vettel may have intentionally performed poorly alongside Daniel Ricciardo to force his Red Bull exit after 2014, Martin Brundle believes

Fresh from winning his fourth straight Formula 1 title in 2013, the German entered the hybrid era with a new teammate in Ricciardo, who took over the seat vacated by fellow Australian Mark Webber.

To the surprise of many though, it didn't take long for Daniel to assert himself against Vettel, as three wins saw him finish third in the Drivers' standings a massive 71 points clear of Sebastian.

But for as good as Ricciardo was that year, Brundle has always wondered why Vettel was so bad.

“I never understood Seb’s awful season, when Ricciardo arrived,” the ex-F1 driver turned pundit told F1 Racing magazine.

“He kept on about how he hated the hybrid cars – but when he got to Ferrari [in 2015] he was immediately on the pace.

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“I’ve always wondered if he went slowly in 2014 because he needed to trigger his Red Bull exit clause.

“Whatever, he had to leave because another year like that with Danny Ric and his value would have dropped to almost nothing…”

It is true that in his first year in red, Vettel looked a different man, winning three times and pushing Mercedes for much of the season.

Last year, however, Vettel struggled again versus a young, fresh teammate, as Charles Leclerc beat the now 32-year-old in the championship in his first year at Ferrari, leading many to compare 2019 to 2014.

And while he will face a second season up against the Monegasque, unlike Ricciardo, his future at the Italian team is now uncertain too with even talk of retirement when his contract expires after 2020. 

“I don’t think the interruption is suiting either driver as they all really love racing as it is part of their lives,” Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto told Sky Sports of the delayed start to the season due to the coronavirus.

“I know that Sebastian is missing normality and misses that we are not on track racing, he would like to be back as soon as possible but we need to do that when everything is gone and we are back to normality.

“I think his desire is to race at any moment, Seb is a genuine and straightforward person. He loves his job and that is one of the reasons why as Ferrari we love and appreciate him so much," he concluded.