Vettel: Ferrari lack pace in "too many races"

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari must fix the lack of pace in "too many" races next season if they are to go on and beat Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes next season.

The German looked to be on top of the ladder after the British Grand Prix but came crashing down in the final third of the season. Vettel spoke to the press at the FIA Prize Gala and asked the team to address the weak points first.

"[We need] better performance. I think it is very simple," Vettel said.

“We had our races where we were very close and very competitive, and overall our car this year has been more an all-around car which worked on all tracks. So we had our highlights, and I think most of them we used.

“But then we had too many races where we were not quite there. Sometimes [it was] by a tenth or two but sometimes a bit more, where we were left with not much to do over a weekend. And that is something we must fix and try to control better going into next year.”

During the interview, Vettel had time to reflect on the 2018 season in more detail. He claims his victory in Bahrain was his best win of the season.

"I would say Bahrain because initially, I didn’t like it, but now I really love it. I loved the trophy after the race. It was a tight battle after the last laps, so it was good to hang onto the lead until the end," Vettel explained.