“I Did What I Could”: Sebastian Vettel Reveals Struggles With ‘Jumpy’ Ferrari at the Spanish Grand Prix

New chassis but same old struggles for Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. The German yet again failed to make it out of Q2 and is set to start tomorrow’s race in P11. Having started the weekend on a rather bright note, setting the 5th best lap time in FP1, Vettel’s struggles with the car came back to haunt him during qualifying.

Speaking to the media after his Q2 exit, Vettel said, “It’s (car) very jumpy. Some sections are good, some are not. This afternoon was actually a bit better but certainly not good enough yet. Struggling int sector 2, turn 5 and 7, losing the rear quite suddenly, and then the last sector seems to fall away for me, so yeah. Not easy to put it together but I thought I did what I could, but it’s not enough.”

This marks the 3rd time in 6 races this season that Vettel has not made it to Q3. His best qualifying performance came at the Hungaroring, where he started the race in P5. His P11 showing in Barcelona is on par with what he achieved in the Austrian GP, and at the 70th Anniversary GP, albeit he qualified in P12 during last weekend’s race but Ocon’s penalty pushed him up a spot.

How did Charles Leclerc do in comparison to Sebastian Vettel?

Vettel’s Scuderia teammate Charles Leclerc didn’t fare too much better. Although the Monegasque got out of Q2 with relative comfort, he put in a disappointing showing in Q3. As a result, Leclerc will start the Spanish Grand Prix in P9, behind both the cars of Mercedes, Racing Point, Red Bull, and McLaren.

Definitely not the kind of performance that Ferrari were hoping for from their drivers. Surely it would seem unlikely that either driver would make the podium this weekend. It may even be a difficult prospect for Vettel to get any points this time around too.

However, if the heat in Barcelona can throw a spanner in the works for the front runners, Ferrari could get some important points out of this race. Leclerc demonstrated brilliant tire management in the last race if he can do the same again, perhaps, just maybe, something special could happen. Although you wouldn’t want to bet your house on it.