Ferrari

Mercedes and Racing Point "on a different planet" - Vettel

Ian Parkes & Sam Hall Saturday 18 July 2020 19:16 Updated: 20:00

Sebastian Vettel believes Mercedes and Racing Point "to be on a different planet" following their performance in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Although Ferrari showed improvement itself compared to the opening two races in Austria, with Vettel and Charles Leclerc both qualifying inside the top 10 for the first time this season, the duo were still considerably off the pace of their rivals.

While Mercedes and Racing Point reached Q3 on the medium tyre, as opposed to Vettel and Leclerc on the soft, come the end of the top-10 shootout, despite the duo qualifying fifth and sixth, they were both just over 1.3secs adrift of polesitter Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferrari drivers also comfortably trailed Racing Point pair Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez.

The four-time F1 champion is still hopeful of being able to mix it with the lead quartet as he said: "Starting on the soft, we will be on a different tyre strategy to the four cars ahead of us.

"We will see how that evolves as we may have an advantage on the run to turn one and then for the first couple of laps.

"The forecast says it might rain in the race and although we struggled a bit in the wet yesterday, it might actually give us a bit more of a chance tomorrow, although the two teams ahead of us seem to be on a different planet!"

Ferrari struggled at the Red Bull Ring, but the less power-sensitive, higher downforce Hungaroring has at least catapulted the team back to the top of the midfield - for now.

Team principal Mattia Binotto believes that while Vettel and Leclerc gave it their all, the SF1000 is still found wanting despite its recent numerous upgrades.

"The result of qualifying is an accurate reflection of our current potential," said Binotto.

"We can’t really be happy about being on the third row, especially when you look at the gap to the team on the front.

"Having said that, it’s interesting to note the difference down the few straight sections on this track, between some cars and the rest of the pack.

"On a track with very different characteristics to the one in Spielberg, we managed to get the most out of our car, but it’s clearly not enough.

"In the race, our aim will be to pick up as many points as possible, making the most of any opportunities that come our way.

"We will also have to be ready for any eventuality, given that the weather forecast is very unpredictable."

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