Sebastian Vettel has laid down the gauntlet to the rest of the field after his victory at the Australian Grand Prix, stating that he and Ferrari are here to fight for both championships.
After following and pushing Lewis Hamilton early on, Vettel’s move for victory came after a clean pit stop from the Ferrari mechanics as Hamilton was stuck behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
Speaking on the podium, Vettel said: “Unbelievable, It was a fantastic grand prix, it was what we needed.
“The whole team has been working really, really hard. the guys didn’t get much sleep here and back at the factory, the car is really behaving well, incredible fun to drive.”
After a poor getaway at the start, he lost ground to Hamilton and had to defend against the other Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, but did not let Hamilton out of his sights until the Briton pitted much earlier than expected.
Due to the nature of the new Pirelli tyre design, the ability to continue to push helped the four-time-world champion utilise the overcut to his advantage for the victory.
Vettel added: “The start wasn’t entirely happy, had a bit of a wheel spin off the line so Lewis was a bit better, then I had to take care of Valtteri into Turn 1.
“After that I tried to keep the pressure on, to make sure they get the message that we are here, here to fight.
“Obviously got a bit lucky when Lewis came out in traffic but the tyres were there, the car was working good so excellent job.
“You could push much harder, last year you pushed a couple of laps and then the tyres were dropping off.
“The tyres are still dropping off a bit but you can keep pushing, keep braking at the same point, and at the end with the harder tyres it was more fun in the fast corners.”
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