2018 Austrian GP: Sebastian Vettel reflects on the last round and previews the race in Spielberg. Seb previews the next round of the 2018 F1 season.

A rainy morning welcomed the Formula One teams ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix, Just a few days after the French event. Scuderia Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel are all geared up for the challenge to come.

Seb took some time to reflect on the events of the last race: “If we consider the whole weekend, France was a much better one than Barcelona, and there are similarities between the two circuits in terms of asphalt and because we had the same tyres. Our pace was good, but there’s no point now in looking back too much, it was what it was. As for Austria, I always enjoy coming down here, both in winter for skiing and now for the Grand Prix. Our car is strong and this track should suit us in principle, although now it’s impossible to predict how competitive we will be, with the weather and all the variables of a racing weekend”. – the German driver explained.

Sebastian Vettel’s clash in France marks his second high-profile racing error in the space of five races having locked up while battling for the lead at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, limping home to fourth in Baku, and while the German driver regrets shedding points to his main title rivals he feels it won’t play a key role in the championship battle.

“There are some errors you shouldn’t do, some errors that happen. It depends on the type of error,” Vettel said. “I’ve had a lot of races and it happens. I try to minimise it, but I’m not worried. I don’t think there is something fundamentally wrong. Mistakes are not part of the plan, whatever plan you have. They’re never part of the plan for anybody. It’s a long way to go, and it’s normal some things happen along the way. Obviously you are trying to push the limits. It didn’t cross my mind when I was in Baku to just stay behind, surrender, and maybe wave another person past, just to collect some points. That’s not how I define racing. I tried to go for the gap, I went for it, it was there, and I didn’t make it. It didn’t work. Sometimes it works out, and it’s great; sometimes it doesn’t. At the end of the year you try to get everything right, and not to get everything wrong. That’s natural. It’s also part of the excitement, so we’ll see where we end up.” – he concluded.

Vettel and Hamilton are matched level on three F1 race wins each so far in 2018 while the pair have traded the championship lead on multiple occasions throughout the season.