Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc insist there is no lasting fallout from their collision at the start of the Styrian Grand Prix.
The Ferrari duo came together at Turn 3 on the opening lap to continue what has by and large been a miserable first two weeks of the new Formula 1 season.
Leclerc was quick to apologise for causing the incident and ahead of the Hungarian GP this weekend, both drivers say the incident is behind them.
“We’ve put it behind us yes,” said the Monegasque. “I directly went to talk to Seb after the race to excuse myself. I think he accepted that and now it’s behind us.
“On my side, I will focus on this weekend, trying to achieve the best result possible.”
Two views on *that* incident ?#AustrianGP ?? #F1 pic.twitter.com/MYtfT2iDcD
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Vettel added: “These things are the worst that can happen. Obviously, if two cars of the same colour come together, it’s something we always try to avoid.
“But we’re racing and this stuff, unfortunately, is a part of it. We spoke about it, it’s behind us and a couple of days later, we have a chance to do better in Hungary.”
Rather than the results, the main frustration was having lost a perfect opportunity to test upgrades that we’re fast-tracked for last weekend over a full race distance.
“[Last] Sunday would have helped us to understand better,” the four-time world champion conceded.
“Also at the same track to see the pace one weekend and then the next weekend [but we’ll] get the final confirmation this week.
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“We know that the parts have worked and we would have liked them to obviously be a gamechanger,” Vettel added.
“It doesn’t look at this stage like that, but then again we’re yet to confirm them in real race conditions so I think it will be interesting, and we’re excited about seeing where the car will be [on Friday] and then especially in the race.”
But while the twisty nature of the Hungaroring may help disguise Ferrari’s main weakness on the straights, expectations are still being kept in check.
“I don’t think you can consider us fighting for podiums at the moment,” Leclerc said. “I’m expecting that it will be a similar picture to the previous weekends.”
His teammate though was more positive…
“I’m always optimistic. I like this track,” Sebastian commented. “You can make the difference on this track.
“We did improve our car, we know it has more downforce than the previous one. It’s obviously not perfect and not great yet in terms of fighting for top positions… but I think and I hope that this weekend is a bit better for us.”
