Dark hours: Vettel is hoping for a turnaround in Singapore

But how does the German plan to turn things around? Unlike recently in Spa and Monza, when Leclerc forced his first Formula 1 victories, Ferrari is only an outsider against Mercedes and Red Bull in Singapore. And pretty much everything is going wrong for Vettel this season anyway. The 32-year-old never found confidence in his car; driving errors and tactical mistakes piled up. The latest spin and time penalty in Monza after a gambled qualification provided a symbol of the four-time world champion's fall from grace.

Sebastian Vettel is looking for compensation in Singapore. © ANSA / Luca Bruno

Because he has already accumulated nine penalty points in the world association's sin register within a year due to the sanction of the track judges in Italy, he is even threatened with an automatic race ban the next time he commits a serious violation of the rules. “I still love what I do, but if you don't do it well, you can't be happy either,” said Vettel, tight-lipped, amidst the Tifosi's cheers for the new Ferrari hero Leclerc. Leclerc overtakes Vettel The Monegasse was actually supposed to complete a year of training with the German veteran and give him the right of way in tight situations. But recently the 21-year-old left Vettel behind seven times in a row in qualifying, took Ferrari's first victories of the year and is now 13 points ahead of Hesse in the World Cup standings. Was the celebrated hero in Monza: Charles Leclerc © ANSA / Daniel Dal Zennaro

As fifth in the rankings, 115 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton, Vettel has become a supporting actor on the World Cup stage. Hamilton and his potential heirs to the throne Leclerc and Max Verstappen shared the last six race victories between themselves. It was more than a year ago that Vettel climbed to the highest step of the podium. Vettel receives support But Ferrari boss Camilleri told the British TV channel Sky: “I don’t like that people write off Seb. He is a great racing driver and I have complete confidence that he will come back.” Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is also firmly expecting a counterattack from Vettel. “The difference between the great and the good is that the great get back up. And I have no doubt that he can do it,” said the Austrian.

Vettel has already won four times in Singapore. But the memories of it have faded quite a bit. The crash at the start in 2017 and the lost chance of victory last year were bitter milestones in Vettel's vain efforts to win the title with Ferrari. Time is running out for the Heppenheim native. Quite a few even believe that it has actually already expired.

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Dark hours: Vettel is hoping for a turnaround in Singapore

Sebastian Vettel has to fear another dark hour under the Singapore night sky. In what is probably the most difficult time of his Formula 1 career, there is little to suggest a turnaround for the troubled Ferrari star at the 15th round of the season on the dazzling Marina Bay Street Circuit.

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