Sebastian Vettel: “Beneficial to have different opinions with Kimi”. Seb thinks difference of opinion is beneficial for the Maranello team.

Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel says Kimi Raikkonen has been getting “different impressions” from the Ferrari SF70H than he does, but insists this is a positive thing and of benefit to the Maranello team, especially regarding the development process of the car, which could prove to be very important for the Formula 1 title fight in the second part of the season, as Ferrari seem to have dropped behind rivals Mercedes in the last three races, after a strong start of the season.

Sebastian Vettel has led the F1 standings since the opening round of the current championship, with three race wins under his belt and a further four podiums from ten races. By contrast, despite having a positive start to the year, Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen has struggled to match his team-mate and currently sits fifth in the standings, 79 points adrift with just three podiums in the first ten races, ahead of the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Sebastian admitted that Kimi has been getting a different feeling with the new-for-2017 specification chassis, but suggests the alternative feedback provided by the Finn is in fact allowing the team to explore new ways of developing it: “We are both racing for ourselves, to score points or win races. For the team in general, it’s great to have two cars running. Obviously he is having a different impression after some runs about the car, about the track, about what the car needs etc. and pushing development in a little bit different direction but sometimes it needs that.” – the German driver said, as reported by the Italian media.

“I think it’s better if you have two sources and you can’t agree on everything. I think we agree on most of it, not on everything, but it is also good as you question where you are, where you need to go, what’s right, what’s wrong.” – Sebastian Vettel added.

The German driver has already stated several times that he would prefer Scuderia Ferrari to retain Kimi Raikkonen for the next season, although for the moment the four-time Formula One world champion has yet to sign a new contract with the Maranello team as well.