Sebastian Vettel was a little bit disappointed with the outcome of the Belgian Grand Prix after blowing his one and only opportunity to pass Lewis Hamilton on the safety car restart at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver felt he was too close to the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team racer approaching Eau Rouge, and despite a slight lift, he lost some of the momentum he had and could only draw alongside his rival before sliding back in behind him for the remainder of the afternoon.
Vettel admitted he was surprised to be able to remain in touch with Hamilton throughout the race in Belgium, and he feels that this result, coupled with the one-two finish for Ferrari in Hungary, means that they should not be afraid of any circuit, and that they should expect to be fighting at the front of the field everywhere.
“If we had ended up ahead in qualifying, then we would have had a good pace to stay in front today!” said Vettel. “I was surprised how close I could follow through the whole race.
“So I am a bit angry at myself, because, when the race restarted after the safety car, I was probably too close to Lewis out of Turn 1. I tried to open the gap down Eau Rouge but it’s a difficult compromise.
“You see the cars coming behind and you know that you need to defend, instead of focusing on attacking. At the same time I know that down the straights we are not as quick as Mercedes. So, I am not entirely happy, but after all it’s been a great weekend for the team.
“We don’t need to be afraid of any circuit, I believe we have the best car in terms of package. There’s still something missing but the guys in Maranello are very motivated. I think we have done the biggest improvement and a big step forward.
“Now we turn the page on and move on to Monza: let’s see what happens there.”
