Abu Dhabi: Vettel, 4th for Red Bull, doesn’t want to interfere with Mercedes
For his last race with the Red Bull team, Sebastian Vettel hopes not to get involved in the title battle between the two Mercedes.
After the first day of the last Grand Prix of the 2014 season, Sebastian Vettel is ranked fourth in both practice sessions and finishes eight-tenths behind Lewis Hamilton. Despite lacking the pace to regularly beat the Silver Arrows, the reigning four-time world champion is keen not to influence the outcome of the championship.
« I don’t really want to interfere with Mercedes – it would be great to race with them and beat them but I think, realistically, they are a bit too far ahead, » he says to Crash.net.
« I think anyone can interfere – I guess that’s what we’re racing for – but if everything goes normally, if we look at the last races, then it will be a Mercedes one-two if they don’t encounter any problems. I just want to get the best out of myself, the car, and make sure I finish fourth in the championship, » he adds, aiming for a goal within his reach.
Outpaced by Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren in Free Practice 2, he comments on the progress made by the Woking team: « I think McLaren has clearly taken a step forward in the last two races, and here, the nature of the track might suit them a little better than the previous tracks. »
He concluded on the work done by the Austrian team: « I think we have improved our car, but we can still improve. But it’s Friday, so we’ll see tomorrow. »
