Formula 1: Vettel quantifies Ferrari's pace deficit to Mercedes
Sebastian Vettel believes the Mercedes Formula 1 team has an advantage of "three, four tenths" over Ferrari, despite the Scuderia's victory in the Australian Grand Prix


Vettel readily admitted after Melbourne that his win was a "lucky" triumph, and that Ferrari was not yet "a true match" for Mercedes.
Ahead of the second race of the year in Bahrain, Vettel offered his estimate of how much pace Mercedes has in hand over Ferrari, as well as its other main challenger Red Bull.
"If you look at the pace - testing, first race - it's pretty clear that Mercedes is fastest, probably with a three, fourth tenths' gap," Vettel said.
"That's also what we saw in the race. Obviously, Lewis was controlling his pace in the beginning and then pushed when he had to.
"He had, obviously, time in hand. I think that's the fair answer. And then I think it's very close behind them."
Hamilton took pole in Australia by a margin of 0.664s over Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, but Vettel is convinced this was not a true reflection of the pace gap between the cars - as both Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen should've been closer to the Mercedes.
Asked whether his gap estimate was for qualifying or race conditions, Vettel replied: "Overall. I think in qualifying [in Melbourne] the gap there looked a bit bigger than it probably should have been.
"I think if you look at the session again, it's pretty clear that Q2 in particular Mercedes and Lewis didn't get the lap together, and then in Q3 he did.
"And I think Max had a small mistake in Q3 and I had a small mistake, so we should have been a bit closer.
"I think that's the gap we saw in qualy and in the race, so both."

Team-mate Raikkonen said he had "zero interest" in trying to guess how much Ferrari is trailing Mercedes by, insisting Hamilton's pole margin from Australia is not too important.
"You can keep guessing [the gap] as long as you want, we will see over the weekend where we are," Raikkonen said.
"I have zero interest to start guessing where we are, or what the difference is in qualifying - there are so many things that will change that - we will do our best and see where we end up.
"The most important part is the Sunday after the race, wherever we finished.
"I am happy to be two seconds off if we win every Sunday."

Fernando Alonso 'sad' Formula 1 has become so predictable
Esteban Ocon expects to miss out on new Force India F1 wing in Bahrain

Latest news
Aitken ends Williams F1 role to focus on sportscars
Jack Aitken has announced he and the Williams Formula 1 team have parted ways ahead of the 2023 season as he pursues a career in sportscar racing.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
Lawson to drive Red Bull F1 car at Bathurst
Liam Lawson will be behind the wheel of the Red Bull RB7 Formula 1 car during its demonstration laps at the Bathurst 12 Hour next week.
Maserati MSG not yet "consistently fast" with Gen3 FE car – Mortara
Edoardo Mortara says the Maserati MSG outfit still has to understand how to be "consistently fast" with the Gen3 Formula E car, following a difficult Mexico City E-Prix.
Why Vasseur relishes 'feeling the pressure' as Ferrari's F1 boss
OPINION: Fred Vasseur has spent only a few weeks as team principal for the Ferrari Formula 1 team, but is already intent on taking the Scuderia back to the very top. And despite it being arguably the most demanding job in motorsport, the Frenchman is relishing the challenge
The crucial tech changes F1 teams must adapt to in 2023
Changes to the regulations for season two of Formula 1's ground-effects era aim to smooth out last year’s troubles and shut down loopholes. But what areas have been targeted, and what impact will this have?
Are these the 50 quickest drivers in F1 history?
Who are the quickest drivers in Formula 1 history? LUKE SMITH asked a jury of experienced and international panel of experts and F1 insiders. Some of them have worked closely with F1’s fastest-ever drivers – so who better to vote on our all-time top 50? We’re talking all-out speed here rather than size of trophy cabinet, so the results may surprise you…
One easy way the FIA could instantly improve F1
OPINION: During what is traditionally a very quiet time of year in the Formula 1 news cycle, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been generating headlines. He’s been commenting on massive topics in a championship that loves them, but also addressing necessary smaller changes too. Here we suggest a further refinement that would be a big boon to fans
How can McLaren keep hold of Norris?
Lando Norris is no longer the young cheeky-chappy at McLaren; he’s now the established ace. And F1's big guns will come calling if the team can’t give him a competitive car. Here's what the team needs to do to retain its prize asset
What difference did F1's fastest pitstops of 2022 make?
While a quick pitstop can make all the difference to the outcome of a Formula 1 race, most team managers say consistency is more important than pure speed. MATT KEW analyses the fastest pitstops from last season to see which ones – if any – made a genuine impact
When F1 ‘holiday’ races kept drivers busy through the winter
Modern Formula 1 fans have grown accustomed to a lull in racing during winter in the northern hemisphere. But, as MAURICE HAMILTON explains, there was a time when teams headed south of the equator rather than bunkering down in the factory. And why not? There was fun to be had, money to be made and reputations to forge…
What Porsche social media frenzy says about F1’s manufacturer allure
Porsche whipped up a frenzy thanks to a cryptic social media post last week and, although it turned out to be a false alarm, it also highlighted why manufacturers remain such an important element in terms of the attraction that they bring to F1. It is little wonder that several other manufacturers are bidding for a slice of the action
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.