Vettel: I’ve lost so much speed

Unlike the Canadian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel was consistently outpaced by his teammate, Charles Leclerc, this weekend. The Monegasque’s dominance was confirmed in qualifying. While the new recruit of the Scuderia managed to secure third place behind the two Mercedes, the four-time world champion couldn’t even beat the two McLarens and ended up in seventh position.

The comparison between Canada, where Vettel was the pole position holder, and this French Grand Prix must be painful for the German. A poor performance that he himself does not really understand: « I don’t know what happened, I lost so much speed that it was pointless to finish my lap. Some laps were good and others weren’t. I didn’t get the most out of the car, but it was difficult for me. There were laps where I had grip, while in others, I had none at all. »

In addition to this very disappointing performance in qualifying, Vettel does not see the pace of his Ferrari improving in the race: Mercedes is far ahead, but we should have the same performance as Red Bull. The SF90 may be forced to battle with the Austrian team as we have seen on many occasions this season.

One of the reasons mentioned in the paddock at the Paul Ricard circuit involves a potential oil pump issue with the German’s engine. He had aborted his first flying lap in Q3 by reporting gearbox problems, having difficulty engaging the 4th gear.

In any case, Vettel’s underperformance this afternoon remains nonetheless concerning for the Scuderia.

#Quali results 🏁
3️⃣ #Charles16
7️⃣ #Seb5#essereFerrari 🔴 #FrenchGP pic.twitter.com/JBs7w6ot6P

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 22, 2019