Vettel: “We were a bit lucky”
The day's winner acknowledges, of course, the success of a perfectly executed pit stop, thanks to the appearance of the Virtual Safety Car.
The collective imagination admits that beyond their talent, great champions also have success. Four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel got rid of the other driver with four crowns thanks to a Virtual Safety Car.
Stopped at the pits on the 21st lap to cover Kimi Räikkönen’s tire change (then second), Lewis Hamilton left the field open for the German driver. As Grosjean’s Haas came to a halt at the exit of the second corner, the Virtual Safety Car froze the gaps, much to the delight of the Scuderia Ferrari driver who could pit on the 27th lap… and keep the lead upon exiting the pits, right in front of the Mercedes driver. The German driver thus expressed these words after his ninth victory for Ferrari, the 48th of his career.
First: Sebastian Vettel
« Obviously, we were a bit lucky with the Safety Car. But we will take this result! Especially since we don’t know where we stand yet. And I don’t feel at the top with the car yet… so this result gives us a real source of motivation. »
At the end of the first stint, I had lost a bit of contact with Lewis and Kimi. I was praying for a Safety Car. That’s when I saw a Haas stopped at the end of the second corner. At that moment, I was full of adrenaline!
« When I got out in front, I knew Lewis was going to have a hard time overtaking me. He still put pressure on me, especially at the beginning of the stint. I was able to take advantage in the final laps! »
🏁 A perfect start to 2018 for Seb #AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/t8k64wsjE4
— Formula 1 (@F1) 25 mars 2018
` Second: Lewis Hamilton`
Next to him on the podium, Lewis Hamilton remained in good spirits despite the evident disappointment. Here are his words:
« It was a lively race to fight at the front and save the engine at the same time. We did the best job today: I had an incredible pace. I was able to put pressure on him (editor’s note: Vettel) but it’s so difficult to overtake here. Congratulations to Sebastian and Ferrari. »
Overall, this weekend has been positive. Congrats to Seb and the guys in red, today they did the better job and we go back to the drawing board. We still have great pace and are looking forward to putting all of the learnings to the test in Bahrain #AusGP #F1 @MercedesAMGF1 pic.twitter.com/B2KPiQvYW3
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) March 25, 2018
Third: Kimi Räikkönen
Another driver disadvantaged by the Virtual Safety Car, “Iceman” will have at least served his teammate’s cause: a sense of déjà vu.
« It was an OK race. We weren’t the luckiest but there’s nothing to be done about it. The luckiest at least was Sebastian. I think we had decent speed, I was happy with the behavior of my car. Even with this bad luck, we could save third place. I’ll take this result. »
Family portrait 🤜🏼 great team #ScuderiaFerrari #AusGP #Seb5 #Kimi7 pic.twitter.com/BPdrxliHDR
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 25 mars 2018
