Q & A with Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel: I had a similar question recently, when someone asked me if I knew how many racing laps I had done this season. I said 40, because I remember in Malaysia I did 40 laps and in the other two races I did half a lap - so 500 metres and 1.7 kilometres! Obviously it is not the start a driver wants to have.

But what is more important is that we have done a proper analysis. We know what we have done wrong, we know what we can improve and we know what has been good. So we have to continue doing it like that. The main target here is to the finish the race first, and then to get the best possible result in some ways.

To get points, I think we are not strong enough, but the target for us is to use, first of all, our own potential 100 percent and then that should bring us into a good position. If there is a collision at the front, or other guys struggle and retire, maybe then we can score.

Q .Who do you think you are racing this weekend then?

SV: It is difficult to say. Obviously at the last test it was four days and the conditions changed. The track conditions were very good, but it was confusing as on some days some drivers ran slicks and others didn't. Then in testing you never know what fuel load the other guys use, plus they bring new parts or an update. So you don't know how good they really are. The potential we will only see on Saturday.

Q. Do you think the team has lost a little bit of momentum because of the lack of mileage?

SV: I wouldn't say we have lost momentum, because we had a strong winter programme. The team never experienced such an intense winter in terms of mileage run, so I think that was very good. Obviously the start of the season was less good, and having done a lot of kilometres in the winter, especially for reliability, having to retire in Australia in Q3 and in Malaysia in the race, for sure it is not the approach you want.

But I think some things just happen when you don't need them, but there is no reason to give up. There are only three races done, we have a lot of races left. There is a long season ahead of us, and a lot of things to prove.

Q. Do you believe the first corner incidents have just been a case of bad luck?

SV: Every race has its own story. Obviously if you start near the back you have the risk of having a collision. If you start from pole position you only fight the second guy and that is it, and then you have a clear track turning into Turn One. I have had collisions in Australia and Bahrain. In Australia, unfortunately we had a problem at the start that didn't put me in a strong position turning into Turn One, and then it was really tight. I made contact with Jenson Button, and after the race he apologised and that was it.

And then in Bahrain, unfortunately, I had another contact and I still don't know who it was! Maybe it is linked to the high headrests! Unfortunately he damaged the oil radiator and I lost the oil, and that was why there was some excitement in the first couple of laps in Bahrain. And then I had to retire.

Q. Is visibility worse this year because of the headrests?

SV: To be honest, that was just a joke about the headrests! But it can be in some overtaking moves you can see the guy later or differently, but you don't lose visibility. What happened in Bahrain, I don't know who it was. First of all he hit me too far in the rear of the car, and it wasn't a simple collision - it was a crash. Can you imagine how much force it needs to break an oil radiator?

Q. There are some doubts over whether or not you will run the new car in Turkey because of Sebastien Bourdais' accident last week. Does that mean you will keep developing the current car?

SV: I think it is clear. It has always been the plan that we will race until here with our old car, or last year's car - that sounds better. But unfortunately last week Sebastien crashed the car and damaged a lot of parts.

When you get a new car, especially at the beginning, you are always a bit limited. So that was not good. But the target is still to race with the car in Turkey. We will see.

And to answer your question, development wise there is nothing coming here. We knew that if there was an advantage then it would (only) be in the first couple of races.