Vettel: We are no longer the favorites for the title
Still without a victory after the fourth race of the 2019 season, Sebastian Vettel conceded that Ferrari was no longer in a strong position for both titles.
If the winter testing suggested that the Ferrari was the best car on the grid, the first four Grand Prix of this season show the opposite! Consistently behind Mercedes, the average performances of Scuderia Ferrari are inexplicable, despite some improvements made this weekend.
With this third place finish, Sebastian Vettel looks with a slight pout at the weekend in Baku: « The first stint was very complicated, I struggled to get the tires to work. I think the tires were too cold. Then, when they were warm, they were damaged, so it never really worked. I was really uncomfortable and just couldn’t trust the car. »
While Ferrari must console themselves with third places as the best result (on three occasions), Mercedes has swept four one-twos, something that has never happened before in the history of the discipline! The Italian team is now 74 points behind their rival. This is equally disheartening for Sebastian Vettel, only third in the championship, who is already 35 points behind the leader, Valtteri Bottas.
We still have a lot of work to do, we weren’t quite where we wanted to be. We’re not the favorites to go to Barcelona. The team is in the right spirit. We have to chase them. We look forward to a smooth weekend, but it’s crucial to catch them and turn the tide.
UPDATED CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS
Four races in 2019
Four 1-2 finishes for @MercedesAMGF1
That’s never happened before in F1 history 👏#AzerbaijanGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/7BSeWiIq8c
— Formula 1 (@F1) 28 avril 2019
