Vettel: Our aim is to win, nothing less!
A productive first day seems to have given wings to Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who would like to play for victory if race circumstances are favorable, as they were last year on this same Sepang circuit.
Best of the rest behind the Mercedes, the two Ferraris of Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel could have their say during the race.
In any case, the German driver is determined to give it his all to repeat his feat from last year, where he snatched victory from Mercedes thanks to a better race strategy: « Our goal is to win, nothing less. But at the same time, we have to be realistic and accept the fact that we’re not strong enough to come here and say we’re going to win. But if there’s a chance, by any circumstances, then we must be able to seize it. »
A more than positive speech, fueled by a rather successful first day for Vettel and his team: « I think we had a rather good day. We tested several things, and our pace is good. Once again, Mercedes seems very strong here on both long and short stints. On our side, we are quite satisfied with our short stints, but I haven’t really analyzed what others have done on longer stints yet. We can still improve, but I am confident for tomorrow. »
Kimi Räikkönen found himself rather surprised by his good lap times, especially at the wheel of a single-seater with a balance that didn’t quite suit him: “I didn’t have very good feelings with the car and I’m surprised that my lap times aren’t as bad as that. The new tarmac of the circuit is somewhat similar to the old one, there’s just a bit more grip. There’s still work to do and I’m sure we can improve tomorrow.”
