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Sebastian Vettel says that he does not expect a change in the intensity of competition from last year. The German was locked in a world championship battle with Lewis Hamilton throughout much of the 2017 season, but ultimately lost out to the Briton.
The two four-time world champions are the favourites to battle for the world title this year. When Hamilton was asked in Barcelona how the future of the duo will look, he replied: "Expect the worst and hopefully it will be better. Hopefully if I am performing at my best there will be issues because they will be upset about it."
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Both drivers topped one day of testing each this week as the 2018 season kicked into gear. Hamilton's comments were stated to Vettel in the paddock, and when asked what he thought, he answered: "Pretty much the same.
"I think Mercedes is the favourite going into this year, so if we can be close - very close - closer than last year then that would be great. But it's a long year. Now it's March and we keep going to the end of November. So it's a long time from here to the end of the season."
Ferrari is carrying a drought of world championships, in both the drivers' and constructors' field. Having last secured the titles in 2007 and 2008 respectively, Vettel states that the Scuderia is keen to put an end to missing out and get back to winning ways.
"It's inevitable that everyone gets older but it's always too long if more than a year goes," he said regarding his title wait. "You want to make sure you bring it back. That's our ambition and target to bring the championships back to Maranello."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (5)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Ferrari and Red Bull really need to come up with something good. I dont like the thought of another Mercedes dominating year.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I hope it's not another Hamilron,v Vettel year. That was totally underwhelming. I'd really like to see Red Bull drivers fighting at the front. With a miracle maybe Fernando too. At the very least I'd expect that the fight would be much more 'gloves off' than it was last year.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I hope we'll see a much closer field in general this year. One thing worries me though: Mercedes is reportedly close to or past 1K hp. They have also managed to reduce weight and dimensions of their unit while adding more power. Meanwhile it has been sorta silent from the Ferrari camp about such things, aside from them saying they've also decreased size. I hope its not the case, but if my fears are correct, we could see a Very strong Mercedes next year. Assuming all of that wasnt done at the cost of reliability, but lets not fool ourselves: this is Mercedes, the Darth Sidious of F1. They eat Unlimited POWAAAAH(!!!!!) for breakfast.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
@calle While we all regret seeing an overly dominant Mercedes, I must admit that no other team has shown more concern for the F1 show itself while dominating than Mercedes. I recalr the Ferrari/Red Bull dominance year and it was absolutely dreadful. It was all about winning (understandably), specially with Ferrari. Red Bull still provided some drama.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I agree. I like Mercedes the team, but for some reason I cant find the inspiration to cheer for them. But even so, Mercedes has been far more dominant than anyone before them, and for the good of the sport we need a closer battle.