Vettel pleased with early Ferrari performance

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After topping the opening two days of the pre-season test at Jerez, Sebastian Vettel says he is ‘quite happy’ with the performance of Ferrari’s new SF15-T.

The four-time champion completed a total of 149 laps over the two days and received a round of applause from his new Ferrari team after climbing out of the car at the end of the second day.

“Everyone was happy that I kept the car on the track, especially with the rain at the end!” says Vettel. “They have a long night tonight anyway and I didn’t make it any longer for them.”

But despite setting the ultimate pace on both days so far, Vettel is cautious about predicting whether the new Ferrari will prove a true challenger in 2015.

“It’s still very early to tell,” Vettel says. “In the end, it all depends on how you compare to other people. Some people haven’t shown much and in that regard it’s difficult.

“But speaking of the feeling inside the car, I’m quite happy. I think we definitely have a good platform to start working from and build up from, so that’s the target. I hope that for tomorrow and Wednesday, Kimi has the same reliability, or even better.”

Ferrari may have out-paced Mercedes’s new W06 at Jerez over the course of the opening two days of the test, but Vettel still believes that the reigning champions are the team to beat.

“I think that generally we had a different approach today than Mercedes. They didn’t do as many laps as yesterday, but I still think even without any running here they would still go to Melbourne as the favourites.

“We have to remember where we’re coming from. There’s a lot of change going on. A lot of new things and a lot of stuff that we learned So that’s the most important thing, to learn the car and all the numbers and make sure that we’re ready for the next test.”

With the former Red Bull driver still adapting to life as a Ferrari driver, Vettel says he is settling in well to the famed Italian team.

“It’s a lot of change, but it is for the positive, he says.” “I am very happy right now. The people here are making it very easy for me and giving me everything I need, so I’m very happy.”

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Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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11 comments on “Vettel pleased with early Ferrari performance”

  1. I think that generally we had a different approach today than Mercedes. They didn’t do as many laps as yesterday, but I still think even without any running here they would still go to Melbourne as the favourites.

    Not even exaggerated if you ask me. Again like last year I’m looking forward to see what team can snatch P3 (Williams or Ferrari or maybe McLaren) as I do expect Red Bull to be closest to Mercedes.

  2. This is gonna be very funny if Ferrari are 2nd fastest and fighting for wins now and then if Mclaren are struggling, it will be so harsh on Alonso can you imagine in hindsight if this car is a WC car what Alo could be thinking? I mean Alo is not young anymore his window is closing and with Ham expected to get number 3 this year it will not be great for Alo legacy that since Vet and Ham have been in F1 he is not a WC. I hope for his sake he made right choice he deserves as much as Vet in this sport.

    1. I think people who know will know. Though we all know how much Alonso cares for that.

  3. This year was always going to be a year of rebuilding and growth for Ferrari. Vettel talks of having a good base to build on and I suspect that’s all Ferrari want to have come Melbourne. I think Ferrari’s strategy will be one where they can develop throughout the year, and have a year where the parts they bring to the car work without the inconsistency that has been present in their in-season developments over the past few years. Short term results should not take precedence over the long term development and re-structuring of the team and its operations that is so desperately needed.

    I’d be quite happy if come November the SF15-T’s performance relative to its competitors had been on an upward curve throughout the season. At least then Ferrari could say that their developmental processes were sound, and they would be in a good position to challenge for wins and hopefully championships in the next few years. I think evidence of this strategy can be seen in how Ferrari are choosing to retain most of their engine development tokens to use throughout the season.
    Consistent, incremental improvement is all you can really hope for this year. I’m not expecting regular podiums or wins at all.

  4. …Vettel fastest!…they’ll say “It’s just the car!”

    1. Or maybe “It’s just testing” since everyone runs their own program in testing. At the end of testing we may have a bit of a better idea, but we won’t know until the end of the race in Melbourne who has the early pace.

      1. @djdaveyp87 For all we know it’s just good press to see ‘Ferrari fastest in something’.

    2. ColdFly F1 (@)
      2nd February 2015, 20:48

      Bit early I’d say – “one swallow …”

      Having said that, I am convinced that Vettel is a very talented driver and that last year was more of an anomaly than his four WDCs and the win in the TR.

      My hope for the season is that Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren are much closer in performance so we can see real battles between the great drivers.
      And whilst we are at it, also have RBR in the mix, give Grosjean a decent car, hope that Bottas can continue to delight us in the Williams, and give the young talents a chance to shine in their cars.

    3. If Kimi and him are evenly matched…then it will be the car..

  5. Good for you Seb! Let’s go big red.

  6. …has anyone picked up on the fact that Ferrari engined cars are 1st AND 2nd!…have they been keeping something from us?…

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