Vettel: Ferrari has made title race 'too easy' for Mercedes

  • Published on 08 Oct 2018 16:38
  • comments 9
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Sebastian Vettel believes that Ferrari has made the title race too easy for Mercedes over the last number of races. Mercedes has streaked away from Ferrari, who has had a handful of disruptive weekends.

Vettel and Ferrari last won a Grand Prix in Belgium at the end of August. Since then, Mercedes has taken the following four victories. Vettel now sits 67 points behind Lewis Hamilton in the driver's standings after getting involved in a series of mishaps.

When he was questioned about his title hopes, he replied: “Obviously there is still a chance. At the last couple of races we made it a bit too easy for them but also credit to them as they executed well, which is the name of the game.

“But we need to look after ourselves and do our bit the next couple of races and then we see. But it doesn’t help when we finish sixth and they win the race. I think we have great potential in this team, the last weeks have been tough for us … we could be in a better place, but we are not. That’s for a reason."

Vettel remains optimistic for the future and has encouraged the team to push on. Hamilton can wrap up the title next time out in the USA if he wins and Vettel doesn't finish in second place.

“But we look forward, and even if the last weeks have been difficult, the spirit inside the team if you look at the guys and so on is incredible. It’s incredible how powerful they are, how strong they are and how positive they are throughout.

“I think that made this team very strong and will make this team very strong at the next race and in the future. We know that we still have a lot of potential to unleash but we still need to work and dig a little deeper and so on. But for now we want to prove that the last few races are not what we can deliver.”

Ferrari and you, Vettel. The two of you had the world together, ripe for you to (over)take, yet you wasted your shots. And chances are you might not get another shot like this.

  • 3
  • Oct 8 2018 - 17:30

Replies (9)

Login to reply
  • Ferrari and you, Vettel. The two of you had the world together, ripe for you to (over)take, yet you wasted your shots. And chances are you might not get another shot like this.

    • + 3
    • Oct 8 2018 - 17:30
    • DGuzmanG

      Posts: 15

      Hey Calle, he never distinguished between himself and the team... Only this awfully click baiting headline did...

      • + 0
      • Oct 9 2018 - 16:00
    • I know, I just wanted to emphasis it further. :)

      • + 0
      • Oct 9 2018 - 16:05
  • jj284b

    Posts: 22

    Ferrari? NOPE, you made it easy...

    • + 3
    • Oct 8 2018 - 18:09
    • f1dave

      Posts: 782

      Now it's a team effort. Laughable.

      • + 0
      • Oct 8 2018 - 18:11
    • DGuzmanG

      Posts: 15

      Hey jj284p, read the actual quote, not the headline, he never distinguished between himself and the team...

      • + 0
      • Oct 9 2018 - 16:02
  • Vettel has done more damage to his brand this year than all previous years combined. He came out looking so weak. We can blame Ferrari, but the reality is that the championship was lost long before a couple of bad strategy calls. Furthermore, those strategy calls probably cost a 10 or 15pts, but Vettel's mistake added up... we're talking 50+ pts.

    I thought last year Sebastian and Ferrari threw away the championship, but this year is next level. They had the best car most of the season, and still lost many races with the best car on track.

    • + 0
    • Oct 8 2018 - 18:54
    • Yes, if they managed to impress in some way this year, it was in the raw level of messing up. They had every chance this year to grab the championship and just chomp it up like I do with every cake that gets within the danger zone of 3 meters surrounding me at all times. The strategy, the upgrading, Vettel's racing and composure... There was not a single right this year. :(

      • + 0
      • Oct 8 2018 - 19:48
  • Kean

    Posts: 692

    How are the Tifosi taking all this? Are they screaming for Alonso's return? If Ferrair produces a competitive car next year I wouldn't be surprised if Leclerc beats Vettel and perhaps even becomes World Champ.

    • + 0
    • Oct 9 2018 - 08:45

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2023

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2 2024
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia
5 - Apr 7 2024
Japan
19 - Apr 21 2024
China
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America
17 - May 19 2024
Italy
24 - May 26 2024
Monaco
7 - Jun 9 2024
Canada
21 - Jun 23 2024
Spain
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary
26 - Jul 28 2024
Belgium
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22 2024
Singapore
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America
25 - Oct 27 2024
Mexico
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America
29 - Dec 1 2024
Qatar
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2 2024
7 - Mar 9 2024
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24 2024
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7 2024
19 - Apr 21 2024
3 - May 5 2024
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19 2024
24 - May 26 2024
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9 2024
21 - Jun 23 2024
28 - Jun 30 2024
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7 2024
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21 2024
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28 2024
23 - Aug 25 2024
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1 2024
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15 2024
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22 2024
18 - Oct 20 2024
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27 2024
1 - Nov 3 2024
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24 2024
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1 2024
6 - Dec 8 2024
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Mercedes
  • Points 3,154
  • Podiums 127
  • Grand Prix 184
  • Country United Kingdom
  • Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (41)
  • Place of b. Tewin, United Kingdom
  • Weight 68 kg
  • Length 1.74 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar

Total queries: 4
Total time: 0.30140709877014
timesincestartcallerannotatebtdesc
0.000495
instantiate query log (0Q - total module time: 0.00060821s)
""
0.001110
boot (0Q - total module time: 0.00011086s)
""
0.001223
translation-init (1Q - total module time: 0.00371408s)
""
0.000291110.004629/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Redirect.php:105(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Entities/Redirect.php:112(findByOrigin)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Redirects.php:108(getRedirectOrFalse)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:115(checkForDBRedirects)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT redirects.id, redirects.origin, redirects.referer FROM redirects WHERE redirects.origin = :origin ORDER BY id
{"origin":"\/en\/news\/f1\/242003\/vettel-ferrari-has-made-title-race-too-easy-for-mercedes"}
0.004943
controller::news/f1/242003/vettel-ferrari-has-made-title-race-too-easy-for-mercedes (2Q - total module time: 0.25614786s)
""
0.022346970.005729/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:389(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:127(findNextArticle)
{"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId > :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId ASC LIMIT 1
{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2026-02-04 12:15:00","articleId":242003,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
0.196943040.028151/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Statement.php:189(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/Article.php:318(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:128(findPrevArticle)
{"function":"F1T\\Controllers\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\Controllers\\News","object":{"current_page":"news"},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:158(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Controllers/News.php:47(action_Index)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:269(dispatch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Router.php:195(_load)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:260(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT Articles.ArticleId AS ArticleId, Articles.RewriteUrl AS RewriteUrl, Articles.ArticleType as ArticleType, Articles.Category as Category, Articles.cntnlang AS cntnlang, RacingSeries.RewriteUrl AS RacingSeriesRewriteUrl FROM Articles INNER JOIN RacingSeries ON Articles.RacingSerieId = RacingSeries.RacingSerieId WHERE Articles.cntnlang = :siteLang AND Articles.SiteId = :siteId AND Articles.Activated = 1 AND Articles.PublishDate < :publishDate AND Articles.ArticleType IN (:param0, :param1, :param2) AND Articles.ArticleId < :articleId ORDER BY Articles.ArticleId DESC LIMIT 1
{"siteLang":"en","siteId":"1","publishDate":"2026-02-04 12:15:00","articleId":242003,":param0":"Nieuws",":param1":"LiveRaceReport",":param2":"Liveblog"}
0.261095 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Result (0Q - total module time: 0.00044203s)
""
0.261540 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Photos (0Q - total module time: 0.00013399s)
""
0.261677 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Trending (0Q - total module time: 0.00010395s)
""
0.261784 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Reply (1Q - total module time: 0.03582191s)
""
0.030153040.262317/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/dbal/lib/Doctrine/DBAL/Connection.php:1323(stopQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query/Exec/SingleSelectExecutor.php:31(executeQuery)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/Query.php:325(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1212(_doExecute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:1166(executeIgnoreQueryCache)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/doctrine/orm/lib/Doctrine/ORM/AbstractQuery.php:901(execute)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Repository/CommentVotes.php:192(getResult)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/CommentVotesManager.php:46(getCommentVotesByVoteIp)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Modules/News/Reply.php:101(getCommentVotesByIP)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:115(internalRender)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:89(captureOutput)
{"function":"F1T\\{closure}","class":"F1T\\ModuleBase","object":{"_amp":false},"type":"->","args":[]}
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/Cache.php:144(call_user_func)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ModuleBase.php:92(lazyFetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigExtensions/ModuleRenderer.php:35(fetch)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:549(renderModule)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_mainContent)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:62(displayBlock)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:182(block_content)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:715(displayBlock)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:45(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php(418) : eval()'d code:46(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:405(doDisplay)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:378(displayWithErrorHandling)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Template.php:390(display)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/TemplateWrapper.php:45(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/vendor/twig/twig/src/Environment.php:318(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/Services/ViewRenderer/TwigRenderer.php:115(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:98(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/ViewTrait.php:79(renderViewFile)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/app/website.php:261(render)
/var/www/dev-priyantha.gptoday.net/public_html/index.php:11(require_once)
SELECT c0_.CommentId AS CommentId_0, c1_.Vote AS Vote_1 FROM Comments c0_ INNER JOIN CommentVotes c1_ ON (c1_.CommentId = c0_.CommentId) WHERE c0_.ArticleId = ? AND c1_.VoteIp = ?
[242003,"216.73.216.130"]
0.297609 cacheAble: no
module:Sidebar (0Q - total module time: 0.00040293s)
""
0.298016
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00001502s)
""
0.298032
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpschedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.298035 cacheAble: yes
module:GpSchedule (0Q - total module time: 0.00016212s)
""
0.298199
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::results (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.298205 cacheAble: yes
module:Results (0Q - total module time: 0.00012302s)
""
0.298330
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::testcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000286s)
""
0.298334 cacheAble: yes
module:TestCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00010300s)
""
0.298439
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000405s)
""
0.298444
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000095s)
""
0.298446
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::relatednews (0Q - total module time: 0.00000310s)
""
0.298449 cacheAble: yes
module:RelatedNews (0Q - total module time: 0.00011206s)
""
0.298571
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::whoischatting (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.298577
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.298580
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00000119s)
""
0.298581 cacheAble: no
module:Poll (0Q - total module time: 0.00167084s)
""
0.300255
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000596s)
""
0.300261
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::ads (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.300263
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpcalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00000215s)
""
0.300266 cacheAble: yes
module:GpCalendar (0Q - total module time: 0.00011897s)
""
0.300387
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::driver_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000381s)
""
0.300393 cacheAble: yes
module:Driver\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00014901s)
""
0.300544
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::team_Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.300549 cacheAble: yes
module:Team\Info (0Q - total module time: 0.00010800s)
""
0.300660
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::linkedKeywords (0Q - total module time: 0.00000501s)
""
0.300665
sidebar:sidebar-news-read::gpsidebarnavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00000191s)
""
0.300668 cacheAble: no
module:GpSidebarNavigation (0Q - total module time: 0.00032902s)
""
0.301000 cacheAble: yes
module:Layout\Footer (0Q - total module time: 0.00009394s)
""
0.301097 cacheAble: yes
module:News\Breaking (0Q - total module time: 0.00030494s)
""
0.301405
done
""