Sebastian Vettel may have only got two hours and forty laps of testing on Wednesday, but the current Championship leader was happy to get the track time at the Hungaroring, especially with such little opportunity to test in modern day Formula 1.
The Scuderia Ferrari driver split driving duties with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen on Wednesday, but set a best time of 1:17.124s to lead the way, just days after triumphing at the same circuit to extend his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship to fourteen points over Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel says the test will aid the team’s understanding of the SF70H heading into the remaining nine races of the season, and he is confident they can have a good package on all of the remaining venues this season as he aims for a fifth World Drivers’ Championship title.
“You don’t get a lot of testing over the season,” said Vettel, “so it was a good opportunity to try a couple of things and get a feeling from the car.
“Obviously, in such a brief test you are not expecting to turn the world upside down, but it will be useful for the next races and for a better understanding of the car.
“I think this year we’ve been strong pretty much everywhere, of course there have been races in which we did not perform at our best; of course there will always differences from track to track, but the purpose of all the work we do is to be in a good shape for the rest of the season.
“We’ve picked up momentum with the win in Hungary, now it’s up to us to keep it going, but I am confident that we have the right people and are going in the right direction.”