Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

Ferrari has “daring” set-up for race – Vettel

2019 Spanish Grand Prix

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Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari has taken a gamble with its set-up for the Spanish Grand Prix which should pay off in the race.

“We brought some new bits, a new engine, everything seems to work but clearly we are not yet where we want to be,” said Vettel, who qualified eight-tenths of a second off the lead Mercedes. “But I think in terms of team effort, everybody was doing their utmost

“We tried a lot of stuff yesterday, and again today. Different directions. I think we ended up getting the best out of the car for today, which, as I say, wasn’t enough and we’re certainly not satisfied.

“But I’m very happy with the approach, with the chance that we took, in terms of trying something daring, something I think ultimately will pay off. Not yet – not today at least. But hopefully it helps us in terms of pace tomorrow. Hopefully sets of the right direction for the next couple of weeks.”

Most of Ferrari’s deficit to Mercedes comes in the final sector of the lap where they are giving away around half a second, Vettel, acknowledged.

“We lose time in the last sector in the corners in pretty much every corner. So, from [turns] 10 to 15 there’s not one corner that stands out.

“Obviously eight-tenths sounds a lot but if you then divide it by the amount of corners, it’s a bit less, but it’s still a lot. In the end of the day, it doesn’t change anything. For us, it’s a lot of homework.

“The car, I think, certainly didn’t feel perfect, so there’s something we can improve but overall we seem to be a bit down in terms of grip and not being able to carry as much speed through the corner, not go on throttle as easy as them. So it’s a loss not necessarily in braking, I think it’s more the speed carried around the corner.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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16 comments on “Ferrari has “daring” set-up for race – Vettel”

  1. Breaking news: Ferrari does a Face/Off with the Mercedes strategist.

  2. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    11th May 2019, 18:48

    They have a “daring” setup?

    Looks like they’re going to need it.

  3. They ruined my prediction again now Max will be third…

    1. @macleod – amusing, isn’t it? When Ferrari sound confident, we knew they’re going to somehow muck it all up.

    2. @macleod I’m thinking the same, I had Max to finish where he qualified.
      @phylyp exactly
      Ferrari has failed to acknowledge that without the quickest car you can’t win, they’ve tried inane strategies that have left them in deep trouble. I’m pretty sure that what Vettel suggests as daring is to run the hard tyre, maybe pit super early for the hard, and use the low drag low downforce setup to block the car in front.

      1. Could be… My guess is they’ve setup the car for strong straight line speed, which should pay off on the pit straight with DRS. I doubt Ferrari will get within DRS range though… the Mercedes has such a great advantage in sector 3 that Ferrari would be nowhere close getting on to the pit straight.

  4. Looks like this team is back to old limping ways with car development war which RBR might win and Limping horses falling back into clutches of F1.5.

  5. Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
    11th May 2019, 19:37

    Ferrari needs to work on their chassis. I appreciate the fact Vettel defends his team, it is the logical thing to do. However, it is quite clear that the car has a lot of understeer and it shows in the third sector of Barcelona.

    I am not aware of Leclerc’s driving style, or if he has any specific one, but Vettel tends to favor a stable rear end. He likes to use the throttle and the steer for maximum cornering speed. That is why he was unbeatable in 2011 with the blown diffuser.

    Nonetheless, Ferrari need to work on the aero department if they want to be kept in the game for the title. We are at the 5th race which they can’t win unless something unexpected occurs. By Canada, they need to have solved those issues, or else, they will wish for one or two wins at best.

    1. @panagiotism-papatheodorou Leclerc has more of a conventional driving style, in that he tends to use more of a “U” shape when maneuvering the car around a corner, which allows you to have a higher average speed through the corner, albeit you spend more time in the turning phase. This differs from Vettel in that he has more of a point-and-squirt driving style, and likes to make more of a “V” shape in the corners. However, with the new generation of cars, he seems to have moved more in-line with the conventional style, probably because the downforce levels nowadays mean that the braking phase of a corner is reduced anyway. Just compare the way he takes Turn 12 in Barcelona in 2013 compared to 2019 for example.

      1. Panagiotis Papatheodorou (@panagiotism-papatheodorou)
        12th May 2019, 9:44

        Seems like the new wheelbase that Ferrari brought in 2018 didn’t suit him too much. He was a beast in 2017 and the car had a great rear end. As for Leclerc, perhaps his driving style is closer to Button’s?

  6. The feeling of not being a native English speaker, waiting for Google Translate to give a positive outcome while I type “daring”

    1. @m-bagattini It sounds as about as reassuring as Ferrari having a ‘cunning plan’ :o)

  7. Ok Seb, “daring” set-up it is. Be careful not to have the usual “darling” result…

  8. Good grief! Why would you mention this before the race.

    1. Could just be a little mischievous ‘reveal’. Desperate to confuse Mercedes in the only way they have left.. Off the track comments!

  9. BlackJackFan
    12th May 2019, 3:54

    “Obviously eight-tenths sounds a lot but if you then divide it by the amount of corners, it’s a bit less…”
    I seem to be the only one to find this amusing… and…
    “Ferrari has taken a gamble with its set-up for the Spanish Grand Prix which should pay off in the race”
    If it should pay off is it really a gamble…?

Comments are closed.