Sebastian Vettel wouldn’t be the most confident man right now despite his win at the Australian Grand Prix, as it was a combination of the Mercedes software issue, shrewdness on part of the Ferrari think tank and the VSC that helped him secure that unlikely win in Melbourne.
Mercedes clearly emerged as the team to beat as Hamilton put up that breathtaking lap in Q3 in qualifying and raised serious questions over the one-lap speed of the other challengers(Ferrari and Red Bull).
Vettel, though content with the Australian GP win, doesn’t seem quite confident going into Bahrain, as he still hasn’t come to terms with the new SF71H.
Though the car has ‘huge potential’ according to Vettel, he is still kind of ‘struggling’ with it.
“I think the car has huge potential but, yeah, I’m still struggling a little bit,” he said
“I think if we also compare to where we’re still a bit weak, it’s where I also feel that the car is not yet there. The car doesn’t respond the way I like and it’s still sliding in places I don’t want it to slide.
“I want the car to be spot on when I hit brakes and turn in, and in that window I’m not yet happy, so it’s always sort-of a compromise. Of course, it’s our job to drive around problems that we have but if I could choose, I would like it a bit different.” he added.
Vettel doesn’t quite trust the car at the moment and feels that he has to make quite a bit of an effort to feel at home with the machine.
“I think we can live with it but I feel also if we get on top of that then you feel more confident. A track like here, when you have confidence it makes a big difference. You always try to push but equally to try to be a bit safe — because you don’t want to throw it away.
“That’s exactly where it makes a difference: if you then have the confidence and you trust the car, you don’t think for a second, you just go out and do it. At the moment, it just feels a bit too conscious. So, let’s hope I get to think less, and we need to think less in the next races.” he concluded.
