Vettel: "I'm not driving at my best right now"
Sebastian Vettel is aware he is not "driving at my best" at the start of the 2019 Formula 1 season because the way his Ferrari is responding on track feels "unnatural".
Ferrari has struggled to translate its pre-season pace into results and in the races it has been more competitive, Bahrain and Azerbaijan, Vettel has not been as fast as new teammate Charles Leclerc.
Vettel has two third-place finishes in the last two grands prix and is ahead of Leclerc in the championship, but believes Ferrari must find more performance to fight Mercedes and unlock more pace in himself.
"We need stronger pace, simple as that," said Vettel. "We need to be faster. It seems that for us it's more of a conscious effort to get the car in the right window, whereas maybe for them it seems to click a little bit easier.
"Especially a place like [Baku], you need the confidence in the car. I'm not there yet. I can feel that I'm not driving at my best because simply the car does not answer or does not respond the way I like. And then I think it's unnatural. I think everybody's been there."
Vettel's peaks are not as impressive as Leclerc's so far this season. The five-point gap in the championship is partly explained by Leclerc being restricted by team orders in Australia and China.
Leclerc has also claimed Ferrari's only pole of the season, in Bahrain, where Vettel was only second and spun out in the race while Leclerc was denied a commanding win by an electronics problem.
"At the moment I'm not so unhappy with the car," said Leclerc when asked by Motorsport.com if he shared his teammate's discomfort with the SF90.
"We maybe need to work a little bit on our race. I think in qualifying the car felt amazing, in the race I have a little bit more balance problems. But these are small issues and I'm pretty sure if we work on it we'll get over it."
Vettel argues his peak is lower because he is driving more cautiously while unhappy with the SF90's handling.
"When it's not there [the performance], then your judgement is normally right, to not go there because you end up losing the car," said Vettel. "I seem to be more sensitive at the first races than at the test. The test was really good but that's a long time ago now. We need to look forward and improve the way we handle things, the way we work, to just get faster."
Share Or Save This Story
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
The deeper meaning of Vettel’s emotional Schumacher demo run at Monza
F1 fans left emotional after Sebastian Vettel drives Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2002 at Monza
WATCH: Sebastian Vettel pays emotional Michael Schumacher tribute in Ferrari F2002 - "I felt him a lot today"
Lewis Hamilton “lucky to make it round” after Spanish GP brake failure
F1 Spanish GP at Madring: Sunday schedule, weather forecast and how to watch
Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur recall GP2 title and 'most impressive race ever', 20 years on
Kyle Larson's winless drought was a bigger deal to you than him
Carson Hocevar spent 20 minutes signing for fans after Gateway finish: 'Some of us are still fans at heart'
Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Gateway
Tyler Reddick goes airborne in Gateway wreck as Christopher Bell rues “missed opportunity”
How Kimi Antonelli is proving unbeatable, even when he's beaten
How Norris unfurled a surprising - and "unrepeatable" - Spanish GP pole lap
Audi’s long road back to the top of grand prix racing
What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 F1 Spanish GP
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments