Sebastian Vettel has a great record at the Suzuka International Racing Course with four wins and seven consecutive visits to the podium, and is seeking more this weekend.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver admits the team have under-performed at late, and Vettel crashed out of the Malaysian Grand Prix at the first turn after misjudging the turn and hitting Nico Rosberg and breaking his suspension.
“Suzuka is a phenomenal track and I have been lucky to have had so many podiums and wins here,” said Vettel. “As for us, we are not happy with our performance so far, if we could change it in a day we would.
“The last race was obviously not very good in terms of Constructors points, but I still believe we should be up against the best in the next races. That’s our target.”
Vettel believes that Ferrari have improved compared to his first season with the team in 2015, and believes progress has been made despite the results not being forthcoming so far.
“Despite the lack of success this year so far, I think it has been a very good season if I look at the process behind the scenes,” said Vettel. “Of course you don’t see it yet clicking and happening on the track but I think I wouldn’t swap with last year.
“It was good and we had some success, but I think to set ourselves out for the future is very important. We get along well together, the work inside the team has improved massively. The secret is not just to get the right people or to get them to work but also to get everybody to work with each other and this is something that has been tremendously improved.
“It’s not a secret I have very high expectations for myself first and if I can’t deliver I’m not happy, and in that regard my performance this season has been a bit up and down”.
