Vettel: Small mistakes in Bahrain will be punished

Sebastian Vettel says that any small mistake he or the team makes could be punished in Bahrain due to the nature of the circuit and the Scuderia's competition.

After a disappointing Australian Grand Prix, Vettel and Ferrari will be eager to make amends in Sakhir having finished a lowly fourth with teammate Charles Leclerc following home in fifth.

Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Vettel explained that the nature of the circuit, as well as the weather, can play havoc in setting up the car and maintaining the balance needed to race for victory.

“In Bahrain, every mistake is paid for in terms of time," he explained.

"For that reason you have to be very careful in overtaking, waiting for a small mistake by the driver in front to try to pass him.

"The ideal points to attack? Turn 1 and Turn 14, after the two long straights. In many cases every lap of the track is different from the previous one and this can make the difference, especially in qualifying: it is enough to be out of the ideal trajectory even for a few centimetres – then the wheels begin to spin and you lose irretrievably tenths.

"From the driver’s point of view, the Bahrain track’s level of difficulty can be configured as normal. Having said that, it is not always easy to find the right spot in practice because the track is dirty with sand and strong winds are often.”