Sebastian Vettel says the latest generation of Pirelli’s Formula 1 tyres are “extremely difficult to understand” and Ferrari’s rivals have done a better job with them.
Ferrari has been seeking answers to why its SF90 has not been as competitive over the opening races as it expected to be after pre-season testing.“The tyres are different this year,” said Vettel. “It looks like maybe we are struggling a bit more than others. To be completely honest the tyre are very, very sensitive and extremely difficult to understand.”
However he admitted tyre performance is not the team’s only problem.
“I think it’s a combination of things,” said Vettel. “One, our car is not quick enough, which is something that I think we learned now more than once.
“But also this might trigger that we might not find yourself in the right place for the tyres. The window is unfortunately so small, extremely small, to hit.”
Ferrari are focusing their efforts on understanding the seemingly “random” results they are seeing with the tyres.
“You can see sometimes big differences in lap time across the same driver or inside the same team which sometimes we struggle to understand. It’s the feedback we get inside the car from the tyres, sometimes it feels better, sometimes it feels worse. Obviously there’s a lot of engineering power and science behind to try and overcome all these random scenarios.
“So we’re doing our best but also maybe people understand a little bit more than we do currently. But as I said previously about the car, same for the tyres, we try to understand more and more which will help us ideally tomorrow but also in the next weeks and for sure looking forward to next year.”
Vettel hopes the team’s efforts are rewarded soon. “I think we deserve a good result just for everybody’s sake, the hard work we’re putting in.
“It’s not like we can lean back and taking the sun the last couple of months and therefore slipping away in terms of results. It looks like very clearly other people have made a better job than us so it’s up to us to come up with solutions and find a way to make our package faster so we can be more competitive. Every chance we get we’ll try to use and optimise.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2019 F1 season
- Crying in the Melbourne car park at 2019 grand prix was my career low – Ocon
- McLaren Racing reports reduced £71 million loss in 2019
- Kvyat: Hockenheim podium last year was “my biggest achievement” so far
- How the FIA’s new encrypted fuel flow meter targets Ferrari’s suspected ‘aliasing’ trick
- “He smashed my office door”: 23 must-see moments from ‘Drive to Survive’ season two
stjs16 (@stjs16)
23rd May 2019, 8:22
Aren’t HAAS saying the same thing, Ferrari engines ….
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
23rd May 2019, 9:01
I am sure engine is not a problem.
Haas also have same gearbox, same mounting points for suspension, same wind tunnel, same everything they can get their hands on. Also tyre issues.
stjs16 (@stjs16)
23rd May 2019, 10:37
Oops Yes, I did mean to include “other bits” although as I understand it they are more last years Ferrari components which did use a different tyre spec. Their new engine is certainly very powerful, could this be causing rear tyre wear issues in the slower corners that perhaps has to balanced by making the car more understeery? Just a thought
Todfod (@todfod)
23rd May 2019, 8:23
I wonder if Ferrari will get pipped by one of the midfield teams this weekend. They looked as slow as some of the midfield teams S3 at Barcelona, which won’t bode well for this weekend. Vettel is also struggling with his confidence/ comfort levels with the car beneath him… A factor that is paramount for success at Monaco.
Wondering if a Renault or Mclaren might beat them this weekend.
Matteo (@m-bagattini)
23rd May 2019, 8:53
@todfod confidence is everything here: they go slow, or they go wall
bosyber (@bosyber)
23rd May 2019, 8:38
On the one hand I feel a lot of sympathy for what Vettel is saying, but on the other hand, his argument
eh, well, not sure how much he looks around him in F1, but I bet a lot of people at Williams are feeling like that this year, as they did the last. And quite likely, quite a few at McLaren they felt like that for most of 5 years. Hard work is not a guarantee of success in F1.
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
23rd May 2019, 9:03
Yup in F1 being excellent is not enough, working hard is not enough. It does not even give you sympathy for long. F1 is a brutal sport to compete in.
Being within 1% of the best is simply terrible.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
23rd May 2019, 9:35
@bosyber – agreed. If you’re standing still in F1, you end up dropping back. There are a few instances where Williams have done better in comparison to previous years, but because the rest of the pack improved so much more, the gap grew. There’s no room for treading water in F1, and I think that’s the appeal of the sport.