Sebastian Vettel would have been looking to bounce back in Bahrain after finishing fourth at the season opener in Australia two weeks ago.

The omens looked good for the German too, with him taking home a record amount of wins in Bahrain since the track opened in 2004.

However, after spinning out as a result of pressure from Lewis Hamilton, and then losing his front wing in a clash with George Russell in the same lap, things could not have gone much worse for the 31-year-old.

Vettel has been subject to a lot of criticism for his performance, not least from Rosberg who had some harsh words for the Ferrari driver.

“It's the same Sebastian as last year,” Rosberg, who won a championship in 2016, told Sky Deutschland.

“You don't become world champion like that.”

Vettel had commented on the spinning incident himself, and accepted that it was his “fault”, but despite this, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto remains supportive of Vettel, stating: “These are things that can happen when you fight.”

Rosberg was not the only former racer who was critical of Vettel’s performance in Bahrain, with JJ Lehto also commenting on the German.

“For sure the biggest theme will be Leclerc's misfortune, but Vettel was pretty lame,” the Finn told Iltalehti newspaper.

“Vettel has to do a little work to regain the faith.”

The pressure on Vettel has been further heightened by his new teammate Charles Leclerc performing so well.

Leclerc looked to be on his way to a first victory before an engine failure meant he had to settle for third behind Mercedes duo Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.

With Mediaset’s correspondent Luca Budel describing Leclerc as Ferrari’s “true champion”, Vettel definitely has some work to do in reaffirming his status as Ferrari’s number one driver.