Sebastian Vettel: « I tried everything »

From the start of the Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel did not seem comfortable. Always outpaced by his garage neighbor during free practice, he only qualified 7th, while Charles Leclerc managed to climb to third position.

Initially, the German had a proper start, but his takeoff was quickly interrupted by Gasly attempting to overtake the Ferrari on the outside. An unsuccessful maneuver for the Frenchman who subsequently lost ground to car number 5. It took Vettel nearly 10 laps to finally overtake the McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.

Conceding nearly 8 seconds to Verstappen, the chances of finishing on the podium were minimal, and without a Safety Car, nothing could save the Scuderia’s driver. Relegated, as he feared yesterday, to the background, Ferrari opted for the last-chance point through the fastest lap in the race, thus making a second pit stop. A successful move but one that couldn’t mask a very disappointing race.

It’s a clear-headed but inevitably disappointed Vettel who shared his thoughts on this French Grand Prix: « The race was very complicated for us. I want to congratulate Charles on the podium. I think we couldn’t have achieved a better race result. It was more difficult today than in qualifying. I tried everything; finishing fifth is okay but disappointing. We brought improvements to France to make a step forward, but we’re still lagging behind Mercedes. »

With already a 66-point deficit to Lewis Hamilton after the eighth round of this season, Sebastian Vettel must surely have already forgotten this 2019 campaign where a title seems out of reach. The situation is also complicated for Ferrari, which concedes 140 points to Mercedes. The team from Maranello would do well to shift its resources to 2020.

#FrenchGP 🇫🇷 Race Results 🏁
3️⃣ #Charles16
5️⃣ #Seb5#Seb5 set the fastest lap on the chequered flag
#essereFerrari 🔴 pic.twitter.com/WuhHtFnjYO

— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) June 23, 2019