Sebastian Vettel believes that the 'halo' head protection device should be implemented into Formula 1, even if it is not aesthetically pleasing, as it could save lives. Vettel sampled the protective device on his first lap of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, after team-mate Kimi Raikkonen gave the 'halo' its debut on Thursday. Vettel backed its introduction and reckons such a device would have saved the lives of Henry Surtees and Justin Wilson. Surtees was killed in a Formula 2 race in […]

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel ensured the outfit topped five of the eight days of testing as Formula 1’s 2016 pre-season came to a close on Friday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Vettel, who completed an installation lap with the ‘halo’ protection device early on, set a time of 1:22.852 during the morning session to finish 0.282s clear of Carlos Sainz Jr. The Toro Rosso driver recorded his fastest time on Pirelli’s Ultra Soft tyre, compared to the Super Soft approach adopted by Vettel. Felipe Massa was […]

Sebastian Vettel says he is upbeat regarding the manner in which the Ferrari SF16-H responds to his demands, after he topped testing for a second straight day on Tuesday. Vettel sampled Pirelli's Ultra Soft tyre to set a time of 1:22.810 during the morning session, which enabled him to finish the day seven-tenths clear of Daniel Ricciardo, who also achieved his best lap on the new compound tyre. "So far the first thing that matters is that the car is reacting and doing what I […]

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel continued to set the pace during the second day of testing in Spain, as he sampled Pirelli’s Ultra Soft tyres for the first time. Vettel fitted the Ultra Soft compound shortly before the lunch break and clocked a time of 1:22.810, 0.715s ahead of Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo also completed his best time on the Ultra Soft tyres, a few minutes before Vettel lowered the benchmark. Vettel, however, brought running to a premature halt when his SF16-H stopped at the […]

Sebastian Vettel says 2015 has been a 'miracle' season for Ferrari as both he and the outfit recovered from a sub-par 2014 campaign. Vettel joined Ferrari at the end of a year in which the Italian marque had slumped to a win-less fourth in the standings, but the team recovered to emerge as Mercedes' primary challenger. Vettel secured victories in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore to finish third in the standings, gaining 278 points in the process, equalling the highest tally from a Ferrari driver in […]

Sebastian Vettel accepted that he and Ferrari made a misjudgement after a shock exit from the first part of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vettel had set a time on Prime tyres which he and the outfit believed would be sufficient to progress into Q2, but Option-shod rivals improved their times and demoted the German racer to 16th place. "Nothing wrong with the car, we thought that the lap I had on the Soft (Prime) tyres was quick enough, but in the end […]

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel was crowned 'Champion of Champions' at the Race of Champions event at London's former Olympic Stadium. Vettel took on Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen during the final and edged him out in Radicals, before the pair were set to battle in the RoC cars. However, one of the cars suffered a problem and the pair switched to the KTM X-Bows, in which Kristensen made an early mistake to hand Vettel an insurmountable advantage in the best-of-three finale. It was Vettel's first […]

Sebastian Vettel says he was encouraged by the comparatively small deficit he had to Mercedes at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel finished the race in third position, his 13th podium of 2015, but was only 14 seconds adrift of race winner Nico Rosberg after 71 laps, without the introduction of the Safety Car. "It was a good race," he said. "We were close as we had never been before, which is a massive achievement, considering that Mercedes was pushing all the way, […]

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says he and the team will have to "create a miracle" if the squad is to overhaul Mercedes during the Brazilian Grand Prix. Vettel was third fastest in qualifying at Interlagos and will line-up behind Mercedes pair Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, as he chases his third victory at the circuit. "I would have loved to be a lot closer to Mercedes, but that was our maximum today," he said. "In Q2 it looked like we could reduce the gap a […]

Sebastian Vettel is confident that Ferrari will be able to make a step forward in 2016 as it continues its pursuit of leading team Mercedes. Ferrari made substantial progress last winter, transforming from a win-less fourth in the championship to emerge as Mercedes' primary challenger this season, collecting three victories in the process. "I can see what’s happening in the background, the work that has gone into this year, the work that is going into next year back in the factory, back in Maranello with […]

Sebastian Vettel accepted responsibility after he crashed out of a Formula 1 race for the first time in five years at the Mexican Grand Prix. Vettel made contact with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo at the start and sustained a puncture, which dropped him to the back of the pack. Vettel spun at Turn 7 while recovering positions and subsequently crashed out of the race at the same corner. "I had a bad start, and obviously after the contact with Daniel I was very angry, but […]

Sebastian Vettel is sure that Ferrari will be able to display stronger race pace after he qualified in third position for the Mexican Grand Prix. Vettel was four-tenths of a second slower than Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and while admits he tried 'everything' in Q3, he is confident of showing greater pace in race trim. "In the end we were hoping for it to be a bit closer but in the end it wasn’t," he explained. "I think already already in Q2, in Q1 to be […]