Current Championship leader Sebastian Vettel is not underestimating his rivals this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, and is expecting a tough Belgian Grand Prix.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver secured a fourth victory of 2017 last time out at the Hungaroring ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, with the result giving him a fourteen-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers’ standings.
Ferrari will be bringing some updates to Belgium this weekend but Vettel does not expect his rivals to stand still, and with the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team likely to be strong, he is expecting it to a far from straightforward weekend.
“This track changes a bit every year,” said Vettel, “so we’ll see how it goes. We brought updates here but we don’t underestimate our competitors.
“Spa is a beautiful place, with a lot of supporters coming over, and I am really looking forward to racing here. I don’t see this race and the next one as more ‘critical’ than others: in fact, here and Monza rank probably among the best, because of the atmosphere.
“But first of all, it is nice to be back after the break and able to jump in the car.”
With team-mate Raikkonen signed up for another season, Vettel believes that there has never been any doubts about the Finn’s talent, and the contract extension is just reward for the work he does in the car.
“As for the renewal of Kimi’s contract, there is no discussion on his talent,” said Vettel. “It is nice to see the team is appreciating his work and I am happy to work with him.”
