One more mistake could lead to an F1 surprise

I've been mulling a possible scenario which may lead to unexpected turn of events in F1 at the end of the season.

Ferrari has the fastest car, marginally faster than the Mercedes, but Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes lead the World Championships. The reason being that Sebastien Vettel has made four serious point scoring errors and is now thirty points behind his rival.

Vettel will now be under immense pressure to deliver the first Ferrari World Championship since 2007. It is apparent too that Vettel does not always handle pressure well and it drives him to make more mistakes. Hamilton now makes very few mistakes, his disastrous 2011 season is well behind him.

What if, with a decisive car advantage, Vettel is unable to cut out the mistakes and bring the championship home? The Italian press will be in revolt and pressing for a change. But it will be clear who is at fault. Could Vettel be sacked at the end of the season? It's not unusual for Ferrari to sack a multiple World Champion, they did it to Alain Prost at the end of 1991 after he criticised the car. This time the crime will be more serious by not capitalising on a great car.

If Ferrari were to fire their team lead - who could step forward? They'd need a proven race winner, ideally a champion driving at the top of his game, free of contract. Step forward a certain Mr Alonso. We know he left Ferrari under unhappy circumstances, but he did so at McLaren under worse conditions and went back.

A strange turn of events? Maybe, but with each mistake Vettel makes, I think it becomes more likely.

Squiffy.