Breaking news
Formula 1 Australian GP
Ferrari not yet "a true match" for Mercedes, says Vettel
Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari's 2018 Formula 1 car is not currently “a true match” for Mercedes, despite having beaten Lewis Hamilton to victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
Valentin Khorounzhiy
Edited: Mar 25, 2018, 11:23 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen had been unable to challenge Hamilton in Melbourne qualifying, both finishing almost seven tenths off the reigning champion.
But a different strategy coupled with a fortuitously-timed virtual safety car interruption in the race allowed the German to jump from third to first in the order, and he duly held off Hamilton for victory.
Vettel conceded after the race that he was "a bit lucky" to win, as he admitted Ferrari was not yet where it wanted to be.
"If you look at the gaps the whole weekend, we are not yet a true match [for Mercedes]," he conceded.
"Therefore at this point we know that we are not yet where we want to be, because we want to be fastest."
The 2018 Australian GP echoed last year's F1 season opener at the same venue, in which Vettel likewise used strategy to deny poleman Hamilton.
However, the German admitted it was a different situation now, and that this Sunday's victory came as more of a surprise.
"Last year we had more pace relative [to Mercedes], last year we were putting them under pressure," Vettel recalled.
"Even though Lewis was in the lead we managed to put him under pressure, so he was forced to pit and we benefitted from that, because we had the speed.
"Today I think we didn't have the true race pace to match them.
"We still had enough pace to stay ahead and make it very difficult for him to be close and try to do something, and compared to the others it didn't look like there was no whole train behind us too, so I think we had some decent pace."
Having initially "lost connection" with Hamilton and teammate Kimi Raikkonen in the first stint - before strategy allowed him to leapfrog both – Vettel said he was not yet fully confident with the SF71H.
"I think the car has huge potential, but yeah, I'm still struggling a little bit.
"I want the car to be spot on when I hit the brakes and turn in, and in that window I'm not yet happy.
"So, it's always sort of a compromise, because it's our job to drive around the problems that we have.
"Not a big drama, I think we can live with it, but I feel also if we can get on top of that, feel more confident - at a track like here, when you have confidence, it makes a big difference.
"Today was quite windy, very gusty, always tried to push but equally tried to be a bit safe, didn't want to throw it away - and that's exactly what makes the difference.
"When you have the confidence and you trust the car, you don't think for a second, you just go out and do it."
Additional reporting by Andrew van Leeuwen
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Big fine adds to Haas' misery after "heartbreaking" DNFs
Next article Bottas says cooling miscalculation hurt him in the race
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valentin Khorounzhiy
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
WTCR
WTCR
Hungaroring
Mar 13, 2020
WTCR's April opener cancelled due to coronavirus
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Mar 12, 2020
Australian GP issues update on nine F1 paddock coronavirus tests
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
General
General Mar 11, 2020
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
More from
Lewis Hamilton
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
Formula 1 5 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 1 d
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup 5 h
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 5 h
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
7 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
9 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe