Sebastian Vettel: “We still have our chances”
Once again, Sebastian Vettel's weekend did not go ideally. A retirement early in the race relegates him far behind Lewis Hamilton in the championship, but the Ferrari driver still wants to believe in his chances.
Recurrent reliability issues are tarnishing the previously idyllic picture for Ferrari. With a thunderous start to the championship, Sebastian Vettel managed to cast doubt on Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, positioning himself as the championship favorite.
But since the Belgian Grand Prix and Hamilton’s regained leadership, Vettel and his red armada are in trouble and seem to be falling back into old habits. Despite everything, if fate intervenes, the German world champion wants to remain optimistic, just a little longer: « We still have our chances. Of course, not everything is in our hands as we would like. However, the team is on the right track, and we are improving race by race. We are beyond what people think. So there is something positive. »
The German prefers to blame bad luck for a chance to bounce back in the upcoming races and get closer to Hamilton in the championship: « Of course, these reliability issues in the last two races are really damaging, but you know, it happens sometimes. Of course, it affects us and we’re all disappointed. Now, we need to come back, take a little rest, and be fully prepared for the last four races. We’ll see how it goes. » Vettel states in an optimistic speech aimed at motivating his team.
#Seb5 waving to the fans #JapaneseGP pic.twitter.com/31TMahfW6Y
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 8 octobre 2017
A Ferrari team that was able to count on Kimi Räikkönen today to bring points to the championship. Despite a difficult weekend marked by an off-track excursion and a grid penalty, the Finn managed a solid race to clinch 5th place: « Our starting position today wasn’t ideal. I got a good start on the Soft tires and, in the first lap, I tried to gain positions, but when I attempted to pass a Renault, I ran too wide and lost places. I then had to try to regain them. The feeling is that the car was a bit tricky to drive throughout the race, not the best balance. Some laps were okay, others a bit more challenging. It’s very difficult to follow other cars on this track; We did a good job overtaking others, but we were too far from those at the front. Obviously, the final result is far from the best possible. » stated the somewhat bitter Finn.
