Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel currently stands second in the 2018 Formula One driver’s championship and will be looking to erase the 24-point deficit to main rival Lewis Hamilton in the second part of the season. At the same time, the Maranello team is very much still in the fight for the constructors’ championship, trailing Mercedes by just ten points.
Despite the fact that the Italian side struggled during the last years, as Ferrari had a disastrous start to the 1.6-litre V6 turbo era in 2014, the Scuderia finally managed to best Mercedes in power output and race pace this season. Sebastian Vettel was expected to be the championship leader after winning the 2018 British Grand Prix, yet the unexpected outcome of the German Grand Prix pushed Lewis Hamilton ahead of Seb into the lead.
Both the engine makers are expected to unveil their final engine upgrade for the season either at the Belgian Grand Prix or the Italian Grand Prix. Asked to comment on the ever-shifting lead in the title fight, Sebastian Vettel said: “As we have seen this year the pendulum seems to swing once this side, once that side. If it’s like this, consistency is the key. I didn’t do myself a favour [in Germany] but I think it’s part of racing, stuff happens. Compared to last year, we lost the championship I think because our car wasn’t quick enough to be a match in the final part of the season, despite what happened with the DNFs. This year has shown so far that our car is more efficient, our car is stronger and still has a lot of potential to unleash. I’m quite confident with what’s sitting in the pipeline that we can improve. It should be an exciting second part of the year.” – the German driver explained.
Last season, Sebastian Vettel won the Hungarian GP ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen and had a 14-point lead over Hamilton at this stage of the championship, but during the second half of the season, the Maranello team encountered several reliability issues which forced Ferrari to admit defeat. Despite the fact that the standings seem to favour Mercedes, the Scuderia is well aware of the impressive pace shown during the last races and will now look to capitalize on the final engine upgrade, which will be unveiled at either Spa or Monza.
Vettel and Hamilton expect the roller coaster ride of the title fight between the two team to continue for the rest of the season, as the British driver admitted: “It’s far too early. I don’t believe there’s ever a moment that you’ve got your hands on the title or the trophy. We’ve got a long, long way still to go. A lot can happen but what’s really important is that we continue to keep up the pressure and keep working as we have done until now. We came to the last race, they kind of blew us away a little bit in qualifying, they would have done here had it been dry. I’m not really certain what to expect.”
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