“If we can’t see our problems, we are blind”
Vettel highlights where spanish deficit came from
Sebastian Vettel says his Ferrari team must act to solve three key weaknesses if it is going to battle back against Mercedes in this year’s world championship.
Ferrari suffered a tough weekend last time out in Spain, with neither of its cars managing to finish on the podium. An electrical glitch led to Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement while Vettel’s charge was hampered by excessive tyre wear. The German could only finish fourth.
Vettel said the team had to open its eyes to the troubles, and not forget that it took “a fair beating” in Barcelona.
“We were not quick enough,” said Vettel, who trails Lewis Hamilton by 17 points in the drivers’ standings. “So, if we are not able to see that then we are more than blind, because we didn’t have the pace in the first stint.
“Second, I think we struggled a little bit over the course of the weekend with the tyres. They changed, but they changed for everyone, so our ambition has to be that we’re better off, rather than worse off, than everybody.
“Third, I think it was a poor weekend in terms of reliability. Kimi had an issue with the engine [change after Friday] and obviously retired in the race. If we don’t see those [three] things, then there are no excuses.”
Vettel does however believe the team is capable of bouncing back in Monaco and beyond.
“I’ve said many times that this team is strong and we’ve got a lot of potential, but I think we also need to make sure we address the problems we have. It was not a good day [in Spain], but it’s important these days that you understand why and what’s missing for the next races.
“We had all our updates for this race [Spain], maybe the others have brought more than us? We had different tyres that maybe suited others better than us? What does it help? Why find excuses? Bottom line is we were not quick enough to win, and that’s what needs addressing.”
After driving in last week’s in-season test at the same track, Vettel added that Ferrari had found its weakness.
He added: “We have some ideas and it was good to have the possibility to revisit, but now it’s up to us to take action.”