Vettel buoyed by Ferrari’s pace
Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel praised the pace and behaviour of his car during the Friday free practices for the Mexican GP after topping the time sheet in the afternoon’s session. The German, however, expects Mercedes to take over the regime on Saturday.
Ferrari showed consistent pace in the opening session in Mexico, especially in the hands of Sebastian Vettel. The German who was carrying out important aerodynamical experimenting in the first practice went on to top the second session.
The quadruple champion was happy with the car’s consistent behaviour and long run pace.
“Overall it was a good day: the car seems to work, not only judging from the result but also as an overall feeling. The pace was there not only for one lap, but for all the laps we have completed. Also, we were always ahead of schedule leaving the garage, which is not always the case.”
“For sure it is nice to be first in the time sheets, but this doesn’t mean anything on Friday. If we are in the same position tomorrow afternoon, then we can be happy.”
Traffic made it hard for drivers to complete clean long runs. Vettel also had to back off at certain points of his race simulation runs to find some free space. However, his long run pace was the most consistent from any drivers.
"Anyway, I felt that I was in Mexico city, not on the race track, with all the traffic! I think everybody was fighting with the same problems, trying to make the tires last, especially the Supersofts. I didn’t have successive laps because I had so much traffic, but overall the pace was good, which is the most important thing. I think we can still improve for tomorrow and go from there.”
Asked about the prospects, Vettel said that he expects Mercedes to take over the lead as Lewis Hamilton's qualifying simulations were not the perfect.
