Vettel: Ferrari's recent progress genuine

The Maranello-based outfit trialled some new parts in Malaysia free practice last weekend, and they have returned to the car for better effect at Suzuka. The tweaks include a new set of turning vanes, the ‘bat-wing’ and front wing pillars.

With Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel having qualified third and fourth fastest, the indication is that Ferrari has made a step forward compared to closest rival Red Bull.

However, Raikkonen will start the race from eighth after late gearbox penalty, while Vettel who was supposed to line-up seventh, will thus start from sixth after his three-place penalty. 

The four-time champion said he was encouraged by how things had gone this weekend. “We tried some stuff in Malaysia,” explained Vettel.

“I think it was interesting, but in the end we thought it was better to go back [for Saturday at Sepang].

“Here we brought some more stuff, and it made more sense. So overall I am pretty happy where we are now.

"It is a challenging track and, with the downforce of the car and the handling, the fact we are ahead of Red Bull and closer than last couple of races to Mercedes is a good sign.”

With overtaking difficult at Suzuka, Vettel is aware of how costly his grid penalty – for crashing with Nico Rosberg in Malaysia – can be.

But even so, he thinks there are good opportunities for Ferrari judging by how the weekend has gone so far.

“It is what it is,” he said. “You have to live with the penalty now and we cannot change it. We will find out if it proves to be costly or not.

“It is a track where it is difficult to pass but we can pass. We will see how the strategy is, and what we can do on that side, how the start goes and how the first lap goes.

“But all in all we have been happy, and we can carry that momentum into the race. We obviously have to nail our race from start to finish to keep the positions we have, but in my case it is good progress.”