2018 F1 Season a Walk in the Park: Vettel

Sebastian Vettel sat alongside Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo at the drivers’ press conference for the final time in 2017. He was asked if Ferrari had learned and improved enough to launch a sustained title challenge for the 2018 F1 season. He replied: “Well I think if we can do a similar step for next year and…don’t get me wrong, it’s a joke and Germans don’t like to joke so much, it should be a walk in the park.”

He said that the team have taken incredible steps this year. The Scuderia Ferrari’s competitiveness impressed Vettel. The chassis improvement and the engine also pleased him. He admitted that the season had been close but not close enough when it mattered. Vettel said that Ferrari have learned a lot this season and that will help the team next year. Seb has remained positive although it has not been an ideal season.

Vettel also hinted that some strong winter development for Ferrari is on the way to help aid their push. He added: “That final step is always the hardest but the team is ready. We have some good things in the pipeline.” All he has to do now is see out the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. He has been right up there along with Hamilton and Verstappen in the first practice session. In fact, he has just edged out Hamilton for the top spot.

But with all things said and done, Vettel will be looking forward to the challenge of the 2018 F1 season. There will be a number of changes, including new tyre compounds and the controversial HALO system. The season will also feature the 2018 cars trying to make 3 power units last for an entire season.