Ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Championship Leader Sebastian Vettel says that his Ferrari team are a way off Mercedes in terms of raw pace and still believes Mercedes are the team to beat in 2018.
The German won the Australian Grand Prix in rather fortunate circumstances, taking advantage of a Virtual Safety Car to gain an advantage over his rivals through the pit stop phase.
Vettel himself admits that he was “lucky” in inheriting the race lead and going on to claim the maximum 25 points.
Vettel said: “We have enough clever people to know that we’re not quick enough yet.
“It’s a no brainer that Mercedes is quicker. If you look at the pace in testing and at the first race, its pretty clear that Mercedes is fastest, probably with three or four tenths’ gap.”
Sebastian Vettel finished fourth in FP1, ahead of title rival Lewis Hamilton in what is expected to be the closest Grand Prix in a long time, with Red Bull also looking in good shape ahead of the race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Read more about:
Today
Rumors
Popular on GPBlog
1
F1 Drivers' Championship standings | Verstappen the big winner after Norris–Piastri crash
7935 times read
2
Several F1 drivers under investigation: Heartbreak threat for Antonelli and Piastri?
6568 times read
3
Did Russell really brake-tested Verstappen to get him a penalty under Safety Car?
4091 times read
4
BREAKING: Red Bull Racing lodges protests against Russell after safety car accusation
3260 times read