As the F1 world waits to see how Lewis Hamilton's second season at Maranello turns out, Sebastian Vettel gives insight into his time with Ferrari.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of Hamilton's disappointing debut season with the Scuderia the fact is that he follows a long line of world champions who have failed to turn the Italian team's fortunes around.

When the Maranello outfit fired Alain Prost after he dared to criticise his car, countryman Patrick Tambay opined that Ferrari had "fired the best driver in the world".

In the years that followed, Nigel Mansell failed as did Fernando Alonso, though not through want of trying, and with Vettel eventually joining that list of 'failures' one has to admit that this is more than a coincidence.

In a Beyond the Grid podcast, Vettel admits that part of the problem with his stint at Maranello was the feeling that he was losing his mojo.

"I came to Formula 1 in 2006, '07 and I would say already by 2010, obviously I won the championship, I was sort of at my peak," he says. "But then in 2011, I was much more ready to win the championship than I was in 2010, for example, and then probably strong years, obviously winning the championship.

"2015 was a very strong year," he continues, referring to his maiden season at Maranello, "'17, '18 and then '19 and in fairness '20, I was on my way down already," he admits.

"I'm happy to say that now because I didn't have that, really, last ultimate push anymore," he adds.

2019, according to the German, was a particularly hard season, not helped by the enthusiasm of his new teammate, Charles Leclerc.

"Charles had so much energy," he explains. "In fairness I was spoiled, I mean, I'd won four championships, I'd won so many races, I had so many poles, whatever.

"All I was interested in was winning, and that's the sort of athlete I was. I wanted to win, I wanted the biggest trophy, I wanted that moment on the podium where I knew I'd won the race, I wanted the Monday morning feeling of 'I won the last race and feel so good', but the feeling doesn't last long enough so you've got to win another one.

"Then Charles came in, and when we finished fifth and sixth he was over the moon with a fifth and sixth, because it was a different stage of his career and the first time in a competitive car.

"I think that's when I started to struggle a bit," he admits.

2020 was even tougher, and while the German's mood not helped by the fact that he was losing ground to his precocious teammate, the pandemic kick-started a new phase in his life.

"2020 comes along, really awkward year with COVID, we're not racing, I get this fantastic break that I never had and enjoyed it so much with the family," he says, aware that his priorities in life were changing.

"I was becoming aware with the kids growing of problems in the world and how they started to affect me and I'm reflecting them. I would say at that time I was probably not on the peak anymore."

Wonder if he informed Lawrence Stroll of that before committing to another two (wasted) seasons.