Sebastian Vettel believes Scuderia Ferrari have to focus now on a good start at the European Grand Prix on Sunday.
The German set a fastest lap time of 1:43.966 to qualify in fourth, the exact same time as the Red Bull Racing of Daniel Ricciardo. As the Australian crossed the line before Vettel, he was given the position of third. With the Sahara Force India of Sergio Perez receiving a five place grid penalty after a gearbox replacement, Vettel does move up to that third position, with Ricciardo second.
For the moment, Vettel is focusing on the race at the Baku City Circuit because he believes Ferrari have a good chance to do a good job. After the Grand Prix though, they will try to understand where they were exactly loosing time.
“Yesterday we weren’t very strong,” said Vettel. “However, we came back today, although not yet where we want to be.
“We also benefitted from the penalty of Perez. Now we have to focus on a good start. I think tomorrow anything can happen for anyone. It will be a long race with a lot of laps. So, I think it is fine this way and that we started on the clean side. I think it’s likely to make quite a big difference on a new track.
“Maybe I am wrong, but usually we have good starts. I’ve had a good feeling already this weekend, so we’ll see. It’s going to be a long race. We have to stay focused all through the race, it will be tough. It has been a very tough weekend trying to find the rhythm.
“We are happy but not entirely because the gap with Mercedes is very big, but it will be a long race with plenty of opportunities, I guess. After the weekend we will try to understand where we were losing time, but for the moment let’s focus on the race, because we have all the chances to do a good job.”
