Sebastian Vettel

Vettel: Ferrari aren't favourites any more

Another Mercedes one-two in Baku...

Paul Macdonald

Sunday 28 April 2019 16:22

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari can no longer be seen as favourites after another failure to match Mercedes at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Vettel could not keep hold of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton in Baku as the Silver Arrows scored a fourth one-two finish from as many races this year.

Ferrari came away from pre-season testing as favourites for the early races, having shown mighty pace around the Circuit de Catalunya.

Although Mercedes have insisted all year that the SF90 is quicker than the W10 on pure pace, mis-steps and errors from the Scuderia, tied with their rivals not putting a foot wrong, have given the standings a skewed look at this early stage.

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Having seen Bottas and Hamilton bolt clear of him in Baku, Vettel was short of answers on why Ferrari could not make good on their apparent advantage.

"The first stint was really poor, I struggled to get the tyres to work," he said. "I think the tyres were too cold and then when they were hot they were damaged, so it was never really working.

"I was really uncomfortable and inconsistent and just couldn't feel confidence in the car.

"After that I was looking forward to a difficult stint on the medium tyres but they lasted to the end no problems.

"I think we had a bit of pace to at least go with them and add a bit of pressure.

VETTEL: "It was crucial to get third, good for Charles to get the fastest lap and snatch it away from the Mercedes boys"#F1 🇦🇿 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/FxsccW1A5H
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 28, 2019

"We have to keep an eye on Max behind, who with some of the lapped cars was getting a bit closer. But it was crucial to keep third and for Charles to get the fastest lap at the end.

"There's still plenty of work for us to do, we were not quite where we want to be.

"On average we are not quite there. We are not the favourites going to Barcelona.

"The team is in good spirit. We need to chase them down. We are looking forward to a smooth weekend hasn't been that smooth but it will be crucial to catch them and turn things around."