Sebastian Vettel eyes 2016 Formula 1 title, not just victory in the Australian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari needs to focus on winning the 2016 Formula 1 world championship, rather than just targeting victory in the Australian Grand Prix.

Ferrari chairman, Sergio Marchionne, said earlier this month that he expected the Scuderia to win "right away" to start a title scrap with Mercedes.

But Vettel, who won three races in his first year with the Italian team last season, moved to play down those expectations in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, as he insisted that the team’s objective was the title at the end of 2016, rather than a win in Melbourne.

He said: “Winning in Australia would be fantastic, but our goal is to be at the top at the end of the season.

“We don’t need our president to tell us we must win in Australia, as that is something we should already know. We all want that and we know that the gap with Mercedes last season was large before we closed it.

“Something has changed and we will see how things are after testing, but we shouldn’t make proclamations at this time.

“The development of the new car continues and we will certainly try to win in Melbourne, or earn as many points as possible. Given there are 21 races, if someone asked me whether I would like to win right away or if I would rather win the title, well there is no comparison.”

Vettel, who topped the times at the Pirelli wet weather tyre test earlier this week, explained that before the first official F1 test begins in Barcelona on 22 February, he would be concentrating on simulator work and fitness training.

He said: “I plan on going to Maranello a few times to work with the simulation program in order to be ready. I must also improve my physical conditioning, especially after the Christmas period.”

When asked what he had made of the new Pirelli wet tyres, the four-times world champion explained that although he enjoyed the new compounds, unlike his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, he had not drawn any firm conclusions.

He said: “It was enjoyable, but obviously testing out so many different tyres makes it difficult to say which was the best.”

“There was a better feeling with some of the tyres on certain parts of the track, while others performed better in other areas. It was a useful day and the results appear to be good.”