Vettel: Ferrari have point to prove in Barcelona

Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari can prove that they are the top team in Formula 1 with another impressive display at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Scuderia have seriously challenged Mercedes' dominance over the sport in 2018 and lead the Silver Arrows in the constructors' standings after four races.

No team has come close to truly matching the performance of Mercedes through the hybrid era, although Ferrari closed the gap considerably last season and look as though they might have moved ahead this.

Lewis Hamilton took a dominant pole position in Australia, but Vettel has qualified in first at each race since, as well as taking victory in the opening two races of the campaign.

Hamilton secured a win in Baku last time out thanks mostly to luck rather than judgement and leads Vettel by four points in the drivers' standings as a result.

However, with the landscape of F1 changing rapidly in 2018, Vettel believes a strong showing in Barcelona will help Ferrari prove that the tables have turned.

"I'm not worried at all," Vettel told RTL of this weekend's race.

"The most important thing is that we have a good car to work with in qualifying. If we're in front, we can win because our race pace is good.

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"Especially in qualifying we were not competitive enough in previous years. But Barcelona is a very good gauge of where everyone really stands."

Vettel has been on the podium five times at the Spanish Grand Prix in his career, although he has only one win to his name - in 2011. Hamilton took his second Spanish GP win last year.