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Vettel shrugs off Ecclestone dig
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FERRARI’S Sebastian Vettel insisted yesterday he had not been stung by the recent criticism from Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who accused him of not doing enough for the sport.
“Well I think he’s free to say what he wants, so it’s fine,” shrugged the four-time world champion ahead of this weekend’s race in China.
“For me, I’m very happy with what I have achieved so far and looking forward to what might be coming and that’s it,” added Vettel, who responded to Ecclestone’s dig by storming to victory in Malaysia two weeks ago ahead of Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Ecclestone compared Vettel unflatteringly to Hamilton, calling the Briton the best world champion the sport has seen and praising his high profile in the public eye. “He’s talented, he’s a good guy, he gets out on the street and supports and promotes Formula One,” he said. “He’s great for the sport. I told Sebastian: ‘You should be doing what he’s doing’ — doing the job of a world champion.”
Vettel hit back by stunning Ecclestone’s golden boy and ending a 34-race winless streak for Ferrari as Hamilton fumed.
But the German warned Ferrari’s victory did not signal the end of the recent dominance enjoyed by Mercedes, which won all but three of 19 races last year and turned the 2015 season-opener into another procession in Australia.
“I think we are realistic about where we are and what we want to achieve,” said Vettel, whose victory in Sepang was his first since his final win for Red Bull in 2013. “The targets haven’t changed. Obviously it was a very emotional day — my first win with Ferrari. Then to come back to the factory and to see all the people there was quite special.”
Meanwhile, Hamilton said he still hasn’t finalized a new contract with Mercedes, but won’t let the ongoing negotiations be a distraction for the weekend race. The British driver said two weeks ago that the contract was nearly complete but now says he isn’t feeling “particularly rushed” to sign. He added that “there’s still points to be agreed on. It’s just back and forth. There’s no real issues.”
Media reports have valued the contract at US$31 million per year, with bonuses that could increase it to US$40 million.
Hamilton said his team was focusing on the weekend job. “We are just trying to understand how we can do better and trying to implement it here,” he said.
“As far as I’m aware of, I don’t think we have any concerns. We’re just focusing on doing a better job. It was an untidy weekend collectively as a group. We could have done a better job.”
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