Sebastian Vettel is hoping Ferrari can make a breakthrough over the summer after a tough race in Hungary.
The German finished over a minute behind race winner Lewis Hamilton in third place as the downforce deficit of the SF90 was clear to see around the twisty Hungaroring.
There was still honours to be had between himself and teammate Charles Leclerc, however, and Vettel would come out on top thanks to ‘Plan C’.
“We had nothing to lose,” he explained post-race. “So we stayed out very long in the first stint and hoped that the soft [tyre] would last in the end which they did.
“I think they were the fastest tyres in the end, so we were able to close the gap. I had one opportunity [to pass Leclerc] which I took, so I’m happy to have some champagne now. It’s good to have a break as I feel we need to charge our batteries.”
Ferrari could be forgiven for feeling a lot more optimistic about their chances at the next two races, however, with Spa and Monza likely to suit their strength on the straights.
Vettel though isn’t getting ahead of himself.
“I don’t want what other people will do in terms of updates and on the engine side but we’ll see,” he said.
“On paper, they look better for us and we know we have margin in the car so it will be a busy break for us.
“I don’t think anyone’s minds can rest in the two weeks so maybe we’ll come up with some good ideas for the second half.”
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As for Leclerc, he admits Sunday’s race highlighted another area where he needs to improve versus his teammate.
“We pitted quite early on the first stint, mostly because I was struggling with tyres,” he explained.
“Then on the second stint towards the end, I was struggling with tyres again in the rear. So, there is definitely something Seb is doing better than me, in long runs when there is degradation.
“So, I need to understand where it is coming from and try to improve that,” he concluded.