Sebastian Vettel still believes his Ferrari team head into 2019 with a strong platform despite the raft of upgrades Mercedes brought to the second pre-season test.
Having run an initial launch spec last week, the Brackley-based team introduced the package that is expected to be used at the opening race in Australia featuring significant changes to the front wing and nose, floor and sidepods.
“Yes, you definitely look at it,” Vettel admitted. “I was a bit surprised that the car had so many innovations, but everyone chooses their own way.
“Of course, it’s interesting what’s happening here [in Barcelona], but it’s only in Melbourne that we really get going.”
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The second week has been a lot trickier for Ferrari, however, with Vettel crashing out due to a still unspecified car failure on Wednesday and others showing better performance.
As a result, the German thinks making any predictions at this point is still premature.
“The questions you always have when you watch the others are: How heavy were they on the road? How much power did they use? How much was the battery discharged during the lap?” he explained.
“I haven’t analysed the times exactly yet, we have a few people with us who are better at that than I am, [but] Red Bull definitely looks very strong and consistent, and reliable so far.
“There are a few surprises. Alfa [Romeo] looks very good.
“At Mercedes it’s hard to say exactly what’s happening from our point of view at the moment. Some runs look very good, others less so but that’s all part of testing.”
For Vettel, there also remains the unknown quantity of new teammate Charles Leclerc, who has been more disadvantaged by Ferrari’s issues in the past two days.
However, the four-time world champion insists he and the Monegasque are building a strong working relationship.
“Yeah, we sit right opposite each other. We share the same car and we’re talking quite a lot about the car’s behaviour, his feedback, my feedback,” he said.
“We’re listening to each other and everybody surrounding the table is listening, so yeah I think [we have had] as many exchanges as you can have.
“I’m asking him [for tips]. I don’t remember every question he’s asked but we’ve talked about the car, our feelings about the front end, the rear end, the feeling and so on.
“I think we’re asking a lot of questions, but from both sides not just on his side. I’ve asked a lot of questions too.”
