Sebastian Vettel is playing down Ferrari’s advantage in Friday practice at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion posted the quickest time in the afternoon at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with the straight-line speed advantage of the Italian team again proving decisive.
That has led both Mercedes and Red Bull to effectively give up any chances of beating Ferrari in qualifying, however, it is the race, and the heavy influence of the tyres, that is concerning the Scuderia.
“Charles [Leclerc] and I split the work today,” Vettel explained via Crash.net. “I did most of the work on the medium tyre, which was ok.
“We don’t look that bad, but I don’t have the full picture yet. I did only two laps on new softs so it’s difficult to say, but I don’t think I had the worst tyre today for the long runs.”
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Despite his strong pace, Vettel, like most, didn’t have a completely clean day with several big lock-ups into the tricky Turn 1.
“There are still some areas where we can improve tomorrow in terms of the general balance and the feeling I have with the car,” he admitted.
“Max [Verstappen] looks strong, but all the three top teams are very close, so let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
The Red Bull driver was the only real competition to Ferrari in the afternoon, finishing just a tenth behind Vettel and ahead of Leclerc in second.
And the Monegasque certainly appeared less comfortable than his teammate after spinning twice in the afternoon practice session.
“For me, FP1 was good while FP2 turned out to be more tricky. I struggled a bit with the car balance and there are still some improvements I want to make in my driving,” Leclerc said.
“In general, the grip is rather poor on this track because we find ourselves at such a high altitude and the downforce is not as efficient as it is at other tracks.
“To win this race, you have to get a good start and keep the lead well into Turn 1,” he noted. “Being behind someone is a disadvantage here because of the cooling issues everyone faces, so having a strong qualifying result will be a key factor.
“Our competitors are strong and we will see where we really stand tomorrow, but we are confident of our potential and ready to give it our all once again.”