Vettel says there's "a lot left on the table" after practice
Sebastian Vettel says there's "still a lot left on the table" after a low-key first Friday of the season with the Aston Martin Formula 1 team in Bahrain.
In a tight midfield pack, the German finished FP1 in 12th place and FP2 in 14th, and was 0.922s off the pace-setting Red Bull of Max Verstappen in the latter.
Vettel's teammate Lance Stroll was 13th and eighth in the two sessions.
Vettel was badly compromised at the recent Bahrain test by mechanical issues that cost him a lot of track time: he completed only 117 laps, fewer than any other race driver, and less than half the total of Pierre Gasly, who topped the list.
On Friday, all drivers also had to get used to the new more compact Friday format, with only an hour in each session instead of the usual 90 minutes.
Teams thus had to squeeze their usual run plans into the shorter timeframe,
"Well, it was busy," said Vettel. "We tried to get the most out of the time that we had.
"So I think every lap still still helps you to get used to the car, and get into a rhythm. I'm trying a lot of things. Still, I think there's a lot to try, a lot to learn. It seems like fun."
Vettel admitted that he was struggling to get the car to his liking around the full lap.
"I feel that there's still a lot left on the table just to get used to the car, and being able to squeeze the limit. Right now it seems a bit up and down.
"Sometimes I'm really good, in other corners I'm far out. But that's that's normal, but hopefully come tomorrow with more consistent running, I'm able to squeeze the limit everywhere."
Asked about the shorter sessions today, he admitted that the day had been hectic.
"It is what it is. We are we obviously now looking into some of the stuff that we tried in the afternoon or the evening, and hopefully, it will be a bit more clear and calmer tomorrow, but I think that's probably true for all the rest of the pack as well."
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