Japanese GP: Vettel Says Ferrari Development As Planned, Not 'Lost Direction'

Sebastian Vettel insists that Ferrari “have not lost direction” in terms of the development of their 2018 car after the summer break despite Mercedes taking five wins in the last six races.

The Italian team’s title challenge has faltered since the season resumed after the summer break with Mercedes again looking like the dominant force they have been in the last four years.

Ferrari put them under immense pressure since the start of the season, and it looked like their dominance might finally come to an end, but they have stepped on the gas in the last few races and been unbeatable in the face of a stern challenge from Vettel and his team.

It is widely believed that Ferrari do have a superior car compared to Mercedes in terms of pure pace, but despite being at an advantage in Italy and Singapore they did not make it count.

However, in the previous race in Russia — the Silver Arrows team seemed to have made a much bigger step forward — they completely dominated the rest of the field to record a relatively comfortable 1-2 finish.

It looked like Ferrari had no answer to their pace after being so closely matched the entire season. Vettel, however, insists the team have not lost direction and believes the car is where they want it to be in terms of its development. He, however, admits that the Mercedes team have possibly made bigger steps forward.

Moreover, he also said that contrary to people’s beliefs, Ferrari have not had a car well ahead of Mercedes this season, and believes there have been a number of races when they have not been close enough to the reigning champions.

“We haven't lost direction," Vettel said during the post-race press conference at Suzuka on Thursday, as quoted on Sky Sports. "We have made progress, the steps that were planned were the steps that came. Maybe they have made bigger or smaller steps. But we are where we wanted to be.

"Against people's opinion we haven't had a dominant car this year. At too many races, we haven't been close enough,” the four-time world champion added.

Vettel is currently 50 points behind Hamilton in the Drivers’ championship with five races to go. He was expecting to close the gap in Russia, but the Mercedes pace was too good for Ferrari.

The German driver is hoping the layout of the Suzuka track which requires more downforce suits the Ferrari better, while he also revealed another reason for being a bit more optimistic.

"In race pace we were a bit closer," Vettel said talking about Mercedes’ dominance in Russia. "You can't change much in a week but let's hope the track suits us more."

"This is my favourite track in the world," the German added.

The Japanese Grand Prix weekend will get underway with the first Free Practice session (FP1) at 10 a.m. local time, Friday and fans in the United States will be able to view it live on ESPN 2 on Thursday night from 8.55 p.m. EDT. The qualifying and the race will also be available on ESPN 2 on Saturday at 1.55 a.m. and Sunday at 1.05 a.m. respectively.