Sebastian Vettel expects a “different picture” in the race after being knocked out in Q2 during Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.
Having downplayed expectations in the build-up, the scale of Ferrari’s issues became apparent as Charles Leclerc scrambled into the top 10 shootout, while the four-time world champion was eliminated by a late-improving Alex Albon.
Though the Monegasque would go on to claim seventh on the grid, it does appear the Italian team could be as low as sixth in the early team pecking order, behind Racing Point, McLaren and even Renault.
And that, Vettel conceded, was even worse than thought.
“It’s a surprise,” he said. “We thought that we had a little bit more in hand but it looks like the others were probably running a bit more fuel and more conservative in practice.
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“I wasn’t quite happy with the car, I was not so happy with the car. Quite more oversteer on entry than I would like. But we’ll see I think tomorrow is a different picture.”
Indeed, Vettel is now relying on Ferrari’s race pace to try and come back through towards the top six, but is that realistic?
“We’ll see, it’s a long race [and] I think in race trim we are always better,” he said.
“I think we will there to make up some ground and score some good points.”