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Sebastian Vettel says that qualifying in Hungary drew the same picture for Ferrari that it has seen over the course of the year so far.
The Italian squad was consistently the quickest team in the first sector throughout the weekend, but lost out to Red Bull and Mercedes in the second and third sector.
Ferrari's strong straight-line speed advantage allowed it to set purple sector ones but found itself losing time in the corners with little grip compared to their rivals.
Charles Leclerc and Vettel qualified fourth and fifth respectively, almost half a second down on pole-sitter Max Verstappen.
"We need to be realistic," Vettel said of Sunday's race. "We are lacking pace in the corners, not on the straights. That's why sector one is pretty good. We struggled to keep the tyres alive and struggled for grip in the last corners.
"That's where we're losing most. It was a tricky session for us but in a way, it's confirmation of the picture we've been drawing over the last few weeks and months. Our car is very good down the straights but not the best in the corners."
Vettel: Overtaking not impossible in Hungary
With the Hungaroring being a narrow circuit with lots of medium-speed corners, it has traditionally made overtaking difficult.
Vettel denies that overtaking is an impossible task around the circuit, but insists that the car behind needs to be consistently faster than the one it is following.
"It's very tough on tyres, I hope it will be super hot and difficult in the race. That way we can at least put on some pressure and do something different.
"If it's straightforward, the tyres last and it's one-stop then it's less exciting. Overtaking is possible here but you need to be faster so we'll see what we can do tomorrow.
"I'm on the third row so I need to make up some metres. But our starts are good at least, most of the time. We'll see, come the race it's a new day. Today, maybe I had a bit in hand but not enough to challenge for the top three."
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (3)
Login to replyPistonhead
Posts: 556
Brutally honest and credit to him. This is why I love F1 - it's so hard to be best at all aspects of engineering - and when you get it, it's incredible. Ferrari had it with Schumacher era, RBR with Vettel and now Mercedes with Hamilton - far from this being a boredom issue - I actually think this is a good thing - I wonder though if this trend will continue with the budget caps coming into play - I think this will make it a more competitive series and I can't wait for that to happen.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Same, budget caps might be the best thing to have happened to F1 should they work as intended. But I'm sure they'll find loopholes to circumvent it, such is the politics of F1.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Ironic innit? They would sacrifice the philosophy of previous cars, which worked, for a straightline glass cannon. I don't think it is impossible for them to get podiums tomorrow, but I do think they are at a disadvantage. The solution would be better strategy, but Ferrari has only been brilliant at that once (Hockenheim with Leclerc's stops), and I think the likes of RBH or Merc' will outmaneuver them at that field every day of the week.