Sebastian Vettel says he has always considered himself still “capable” of being at his best after a rather pointed question following the Turkish Grand Prix.
On Sunday, the four-time world champion enjoyed his best race of the year at Istanbul Park, moving up from 11th to third at the start in tricky conditions before going on to reclaim third on the final lap for his first podium of 2020.
The performance came somewhat out of the blue given Vettel had only scored two points in the past seven races.
However, he claims those finishes were somewhat blurred by the challenge of racing in the midfield.
“Well it has been a difficult year,” he acknowledged.
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“I think qualifying has been the Achilles’ heel this year and the races obviously have been largely defined by being stuck in the pack.
“It’s been a while that I’ve been racing in the midfield, it’s very, very close and even though you have a better pace, sometimes you can’t really show so it’s tough.”
Vettel though does hope Istanbul can be the start of a good last hurrah at Ferrari before he moves onto Aston Martin.
“I think we look forward to the last couple of races and hopefully for improvements,” he added.
“I’m looking forward to trying to squeeze out anything that there is to squeeze in the last races to finish as high up as possible for myself and also for the team.”
The next question Vettel faced would catch his attention however, as he was asked if Sunday proved he was still “capable” of being the driver which won four F1 titles and 53 races.
“Well I’m a bit shocked by the way you phrased your question there,” he replied.
“I don’t think… well, F1 is a very fast living world. We drive the fastest cars, you always get judged by your last race.
“I’ve said that we had a difficult season, there’s been moments where certainly I haven’t been at the top of my game but I don’t doubt that I can do a good job in the car and don’t feel that anything has changed, so a bit surprised. But thank you.”