Sebastian Vettel says he would not benefit from working with a sports psychologist, despite making a number of costly errors this season.
With six races remaining, the Ferrari driver is 40 points behind Lewis Hamilton in this year’s title battle, but by a conservative estimate has dropped at least 60 points due to collisions and errors this season. Even allowing for bad luck and blame being apportioned elsewhere in the majority of the incidents, Vettel’s error at the German Grand Prix, where he crashed out while leading the race, cost him a clear 25 points and allowed Hamilton to win a race from 14th on the grid.
Asked if he was feeling the pressure this year, Vettel told Auto Bild: “Of course I have pressure, but most of the time I put it on myself. If you know what you can do and you do not achieve it, then you are not satisfied.”
It was put to Vettel that he might benefit from a mental coach in order to prevent more errors, but the Ferrari driver said he had already considered the idea and rejected it.
“I find the idea very interesting, but I have not met a person that I think can help. I’ve already researched it a bit, so the whole topic has not passed me by.
“When you have stress, you need to find balance. I have developed things that work for me. And I have enough self-discipline, so as not to be confused. “
Vettel added that he does not read what is written about him in order to minmise distractions.
“In my spare time I hardly read articles about Formula One, more about football. I do not let criticism get to me and that saves me dealing with it. But generally, my motto is: ‘You’re never as good as people say and you’re never as bad as they say’. “