Despite regaining the championship lead with third place in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel admits he’s not fully satisfied with the result.
Vettel had qualified third but was deemed to have impeded Carlos Sainz Jr. during qualifying and was demoted three places to sixth. Vettel would recover through a mixture of strong pace, tyre management and strategy, to finish third come the checkered flag.
Vettel now holds a one point lead over title rival Lewis Hamilton, who retired from the race in Austria. But Vettel believes he should have achieved more at the Red Bull Ring.
“We did a good job and a good race,” says Vettel. “I had a very solid start, but in Turn 1 things got a bit messy. I tried to recover, but there was no room and lost some positions in Turn 3.
“From then on, I had to fight with Renault and Haas and lost some time. However, the car was very good, we had a very good pace and we didn’t have any issues with the tyres; in fact, the car was very good on them, even if I had to manage the Softs for a long stint, which again proves we have made good progress since Barcelona.
“Obviously, I am happy with the points that we’ve got and the podium, but I am not satisfied 100 per cent, because I think there would have been more up for grabs today, if I hadn’t got the penalty. We were the only cars that could be there with the Mercedes in terms of pace, but in the end, we proved more consistent.”
There had been speculation that Scuderia Ferrari would employ team orders in the closing stages of the race as Vettel trailed team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. As it was, Räikkönen held second with both Ferraris coming home behind race winner Max Verstappen.
Ferrari now take the lead in the constructors’ championship, heading Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport by ten points.
