Vettel Questions Competitors' Medium-Only Race-Sim Strategy

Sebastian Vettel, who came out of pre-season testing with the quickest lap time, questions the tyre selection of Red Bull and Mercedes when doing their race simulations, as both teams exclusively ran on mediums.

Sebastian Vettel has questioned the strategies, and "ultimately the results" of Mercedes and Red Bull, who both ran race simulations on medium tyres. The German himself ran a simulation on the penultimate day of testing, starting on supersofts and ending on mediums.

On the same day, both Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen of Mercedes and Red Bull respectively ran all three stints of the simulation on medium tyres, coming in for fresh sets twice.

“Our competitors – Mercedes and Red Bull – used one type of tyre for their race distance simulations, which is something you can’t do in a Grand Prix,” the four-time champion said. “This has an impact on the strategies and ultimately on the result.”

Looking ahead to next season in general, Vettel said he enjoyed the eight trouble-free testing days in Spain, and says a good foundation has been laid for this season.

“I think we’re starting from a good base with our SF71H car,” Vettel said. “Now we’ll have to work on development to further explore and improve its potential. I have a lot of confidence in our team, I know how skilled and committed the guys in Maranello are."