Sebastian Vettel admits Ferrari is simply not fast enough after Mercedes dominated Spanish Grand Prix qualifying.
Valtteri Bottas produced a brilliant lap to claim pole in Barcelona, beating teammate Lewis Hamilton by six-tenths of a second.
Even though the Briton had a poor lap in Q3, Vettel still couldn’t capitalise finishing two-tenths further back in third as the technical third sector remains a weakness.
“Yeah, it seems to be more than an Achilles heel at the moment,” he commented afterwards. “I mean, the car doesn’t feel bad. Obviously, we are not quick enough.
“In terms of balance, we got it more or less right. I had a bit more understeer. Probably more than they [Mercedes] had.
“Overall, in those sort of corners, you need the grip, and we might be a bit down on that.”
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Knowing that Ferrari’s strength is on the straights, Mercedes have been working on their handling with the W10 this season.
“I just spoke to Valtteri [Bottas] and they [Bottas and Hamilton] are both very happy with the car, especially last sector,” Vettel continued.
“I think we got everything out of the car in the first run. In the second run, I had to try something different and it didn’t work.
“So, obviously, I’m happy, but not happy, if you know what I mean.”
