Sebastian Vettel says he is not “counting the races” until he leaves Ferrari despite a tricky start to the 2020 season.
The four-time world champion is seeing his five-year stint at Maranello come to a frustrating end, as he currently sits 11th in the Drivers’ standings with a best result of sixth in Budapest.
That is in pretty stark contrast to teammate Charles Leclerc, who has managed two podiums despite an underperforming SF1000 and sits tied fourth behind the Mercedes’ and Max Verstappen.
However, while there have been moments where the anger has seeped out, Vettel insists he is still treating 2020 as any other year by looking for answers to his current lack of pace.
“There’s always two ways to look at it: you can get frustrated by it or you tackle it and you push through, and that’s what I’m here to do. I’m always optimistic,” he said via Formula1.com on Thursday.
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“I think there’s always stuff that you can learn but those things just don’t go away like that. They come up like that, but they don’t just go away. We have to work on it and I’m sure we’ll get through it.
“The year isn’t over so as a team we try to make progress and individually I also try to make the best out of the situation and… it’s not an easy one but as I said we will are trying to make the most out of it,” Vettel explained.
“It’s only a sign of respect to give everything that I have back as well, independent of the amount of races that I have left, for the team.”
Moreover, the German says he is also trying to focus on the positives because that is more representative of the past five years he spent at Ferrari.
“I don’t look at the negatives or the bad things. I think first of all I’m not counting the races, I’m going race-by-race and I’m trying to do my job, do the best I can looking forward,” Vettel said.
“I’m always optimistic and would rather see the opportunity than the struggles, and I think that’s also the right thing to do in respect of what we have achieved in the last years.
“For sure there were some moments that were not good and not great and the moments that we did not enjoy but there were equally great moments, wins, etc, so a lot of positives as well.
“Independent of what happens next year and the year after that I’m trying to enjoy the time that I have left with the guys that I spent so much time with over the last years.”