Sebastian Vettel says the Ferrari Formula 1 team showed “much better” performance in Hungary with its aerodynamic upgrade package despite a significant gap in the Mercedes duo.
Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc ranked fifth and sixth at the Hungaroring, as both SF1000s reached Q3 for the first time in three attempts this season.
Vettel acknowledged that Hungary’s lack of straights in relation to the Red Bull Ring, which hosted the Austrian and Styrian Grand Prix, which started the long overdue 2020 campaign, had played in the team’s favor and allowed it to show better shape in relationship with Red Bull and McLaren.
However, Polesitter Lewis Hamilton’s best time was still 1.3 seconds ahead of Vettel’s best lap.
The Ferraris are the leading cars that start with soft tires, with drivers from Mercedes and Racing Point managing to advance to Q3 with medium tires.
Ferrari did not get a proper read on the upgrade package that was introduced for the Styria GP due to rain on Saturday and the double retreat after a first lap collision caused by Leclerc’s onslaught at Vettel at Turn 3.
“I think it is much better than the previous weekend,” said Vettel.
“For the first time we have both cars in Q3, so we know that Austria really didn’t suit us and we wasted a lot of time on the straights, and there are a lot more corners here to make up for it.”
“The car also felt better balanced, so we are much closer compared to the people around us, say Racing Point, Red Bull and even McLaren, so that’s a good thing.”
“We need to make sure we continue like this, and now all that matters is preparing for tomorrow’s race.”
“We start in the soft, the people in front of us are in the middle, the people behind us in the soft again, so it’s a lot of work for us tomorrow, and we’ll see what we can do.”
PLUS: The honest but damning verdict on Ferrari’s 2020 form
Leclerc agreed that the team has made progress due to less emphasis on straight-line performance and predicted that the red cars would perform better in race setting than in qualifying.
“It feels a lot better, fifth and sixth,” he said.
“And I think our race pace is a little bit better than our qualifying pace, so I hope we can score some good points for the team tomorrow.”
“This track doesn’t have a lot of straights, and right now we’re pretty fast in the corners, so that’s what makes us a little more competitive this weekend.”
“We have to see if we can take the car off a little to go fast on the straights.”
.
