Vettel laments missing Austria podium

Sebastian Vettel cut a much happier figure following the Austrian Grand Prix than recent races, despite falling short of a podium finish that he believed was on the cards despite starting ninth.

Vettel did not take part in Q3 in Spielberg due to an air-pressure issue, with team-mate Charles Leclerc taking pole, eventually finishing second to Max Verstappen after losing out in a last-gasp battle.

The German made good progress from P9 on the grid and had advanced to third place despite a sluggish pit-stop, where Ferrari did not have his tyres ready.

He gave up the position to Valtteri Bottas to pit again, but could not make the place back up, despite a fine late pass on Lewis Hamilton for P4.

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Seb v Lewis: The Rivalry Continues ⚔️ And this time it’s the red car that comes out on top . #F1 #Formula1 #AustrianGP #LewisHamilton #Vettel

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He said: "I would have liked to have taken a piece of wood with me from the podium, but it was good fun, I really enjoyed it. It was just chasing people in front and that was quite nice.

"I think it's okay starting ninth, but here and there, with a cleaner race, we could have got a podium.

"Even with two stops, I don't think it was so far off for us as a strategy, but overall I think it was a pretty good day."

Leclerc missed another chance to secure his maiden victory, but Ferrari's weekend was much more positive than recent races as they clearly had an outright pace advantage over their rivals.

Summing up the Scuderia's weekend, Vettel added: "Not ideal because a bit of a disappointment for Charles to miss the win, but overall I think we are on the right track.

"This track maybe came a little bit towards us with layout, but we need to keep the pressure on, we need to improve our car.

"Everything we can put on our car will help with results, but will also help to set direction for the future.

"We need to keep working, but I'm quite positive that at some point we'll have the car to win."

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