Sebastian Vettel hopeful Ferrari can be closer to favourites Mercedes
Night race means tempeatures won't rival Malaysia, but Vettel confident SF15-T good in all conditions; German not expecting Hamilton v Rosberg to boil over in the desert
Friday 17 April 2015 17:39, UK
Sebastian Vettel is optimistic Ferrari can inch closer to Mercedes at the Bahrain GP, but admits beating the world champions remains a tall order.
The Scuderia remain the only realistic threat to Mercedes at the front of the field in 2015, if not in qualifying, with Vettel having joined Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on the podium at all three grands prix so far.
Since winning in convincing fashion in the blistering heat of Malaysia, this weekend’s Bahrain event has been signposted as another potential venue for a Ferrari victory challenge given the traditional hot weather that accompanies the race weekend in the desert.
Speaking at a characteristically sun-kissed Sakhir on Thursday, Vettel nonetheless acknowledged that the fact Sunday’s race will begin at sunset means a repeat of the 60C-plus track temperatures in Malaysia won’t be repeated.
However, the four-time world champion says Ferrari’s SF15-T has shown itself to be strong in all sorts of track conditions this year and therefore they should confidently expect another competitive showing.
“The only problem is the sun goes down before we start racing! Otherwise it would be significantly hotter,” Vettel said.
“So I don’t expect it to be that hot. Malaysia was extreme, for here I expect we should be in a good position. So far this year no matter the conditions, the ambient temperature, track temperature, we have felt comfortable in the car. It seems to work well in all track conditions, dry or wet, and so we should be in a reasonable shape.
“The most important [thing] is we make sure we are right behind Mercedes and ideally a little bit closer every time.”
Vettel’s hugely-successful Red Bull career included back-to-back wins in Bahrain in 2012 and 2013 with the German forced to overcome his now team-mate Kimi Raikkonen to claim the victory on both occasions.
The four-time world champion admits he’d loved the pair to be making the running again this weekend, but acknowledges that Mercedes remain the favourites.
“It would be nice for both of us, doesn’t matter who is in front. Obviously I’d like to stay in front, I managed in ’12 and ’13 to stay ahead of him and it would be nice to be in the same position,” Vettel said.
“But to be realistic, Mercedes have the strongest package and the moment and both drivers are doing a good job. So it makes them difficult to beat but hopefully we can be a little bit closer here compared to last week.”
With a victory and two third-place finishes to show for his first trio of races at Ferrari, Vettel sits between the two Mercedes drivers in the world championship, 13 points adrift of Hamilton but four ahead of Rosberg.
The looming presence of Vettel at the front of the field last week in China was effectively the trigger for the subsequent war of words between Mercedes’ drivers, with Rosberg accusing Hamilton of backing him up towards the Ferrari.
Vettel sat next to the feuding pair in the post-race press conference but doesn’t think they’ll come to blows on the track.
“It was a comfortable position for me as I wasn’t involved, both of them are professional enough to handle the situation, even though I can see that it’s very interesting for you [the media] to keep pushing both of them!” he joked.
"Both for us it’s irrelevant. We need to look after ourselves. If they are in trouble in each other and take each other out, everyone benefits, not just us. So it would be become and we’re not expecting that. They know what they’re doing."
Amid plenty of criticism for F1 at the moment, Ferrari’s surprisingly strong start to the season has proved to be a good-news story for the sport and Vettel insists there is more to come from the Scuderia.
“There is a lot of change still going on. Some things are in place, others are not and due to be in place sometime soon,” he added.
“But so far the atmosphere is great, people are happy – including myself – and the results have been phenomenal for the team. The ambition is there to do better and the ambition is there to catch Mercedes, even if it’s at this stage very ambitious. But that’s the target for myself and the whole team.”
Ferrari are the most successful constructor in the 11-year history of the Bahrain GP with four wins, although the red team having triumphed at Sakhir since 2010.
Catch every session from the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend live on Sky Sports F1. You can also watch on the move with Sky Go. The race starts at 4pm on Sunday, with comprehensive build-up underway from 2:30pm.
