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Luckless Vettel remains upbeat
Source: Agencies |
April 2, 2010, Friday
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SEBASTIAN Vettel refused to dwell on a frustrating start to the Formula One season in which mechanical failures robbed the German Red Bull driver of victories in the opening two races.
Vettel qualified on pole position in Bahrain and Melbourne but was unable to capitalize on winning positions in both races, limping home in fourth place in the season opener and retiring on the 25th lap in Australia.
"Look, we don't lead the championship, it would be nice to be, but it didn't happen," Vettel told reporters at the Sepang circuit yesterday ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
"There are a lot of positives we can take from the race, we had a very strong car in qualifying and in the race but for various reasons we didn't finish. We have to focus on the next race and not the last one. We move on. What happened in Bahrain and Melbourne is history and we cannot change that now."
Vettel added that the disappointment of being unable to make the most of his excellent qualifying sessions was easier to take because driver error was not an issue.
"On Sunday afternoon I wasn't looking too happy after we had the failure (in Melbourne). I can't really do anything special to vent my frustration. At the end of the day there was not much I could have done better," he added.
"Of course, at the time it is very frustrating and the whole team was down but things have moved on. Coming here a week later, we are all happy again and looking forward to this race."
The 22-year-old also praised his Red Bull team and said the brake problem in Melbourne had been resolved and was unlikely to recur. "We have a good group of people together and it's not like the problems are being caused by any weak links. These failures were just unfortunate but that's life and that's racing," he said.
"We lost the ability to transmit torque to the wheels. The brakes were working fine and supposed to stop the wheel like all the other wheels but we couldn't transmit the force any more so the wheel carried on spinning even when I was braking. We understand the problem now so it shouldn't happen again."
One factor Vettel was keen to pinpoint was that the mechanical problems happened early enough in the season for him to have enough remaining races to still be able to contend for the world title.
"If you want to fight for the championship, you are better off not having those things happen but we are only two races into the season (of 19 races) so we have time to turn it around," he said.
Vettel qualified on pole position in Bahrain and Melbourne but was unable to capitalize on winning positions in both races, limping home in fourth place in the season opener and retiring on the 25th lap in Australia.
"Look, we don't lead the championship, it would be nice to be, but it didn't happen," Vettel told reporters at the Sepang circuit yesterday ahead of this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix.
"There are a lot of positives we can take from the race, we had a very strong car in qualifying and in the race but for various reasons we didn't finish. We have to focus on the next race and not the last one. We move on. What happened in Bahrain and Melbourne is history and we cannot change that now."
Vettel added that the disappointment of being unable to make the most of his excellent qualifying sessions was easier to take because driver error was not an issue.
"On Sunday afternoon I wasn't looking too happy after we had the failure (in Melbourne). I can't really do anything special to vent my frustration. At the end of the day there was not much I could have done better," he added.
"Of course, at the time it is very frustrating and the whole team was down but things have moved on. Coming here a week later, we are all happy again and looking forward to this race."
The 22-year-old also praised his Red Bull team and said the brake problem in Melbourne had been resolved and was unlikely to recur. "We have a good group of people together and it's not like the problems are being caused by any weak links. These failures were just unfortunate but that's life and that's racing," he said.
"We lost the ability to transmit torque to the wheels. The brakes were working fine and supposed to stop the wheel like all the other wheels but we couldn't transmit the force any more so the wheel carried on spinning even when I was braking. We understand the problem now so it shouldn't happen again."
One factor Vettel was keen to pinpoint was that the mechanical problems happened early enough in the season for him to have enough remaining races to still be able to contend for the world title.
"If you want to fight for the championship, you are better off not having those things happen but we are only two races into the season (of 19 races) so we have time to turn it around," he said.
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