Sebastian Vettel has labelled the early domination of Mercedes as “boring” in 2019.
The German manufacturer set a new record for most consecutive 1-2 finishes for a single team in Baku with four, one more than Williams managed in 1992.
Meanwhile, it was another disappointing race for Vettel and Ferrari, as they didn’t the pace to challenge the superior Silver Arrows.
“So boring,” the German smiled post-race. “It’s not just four races, it’s been what? Four years? More or less.
“We have got to work harder and better. We are pushing as hard as we can but we need to also respect that they [Mercedes] are doing phenomenally well and getting their cars, most of the time, in the right place.”
Ferrari started the season as most people’s favourite after an impressive pre-season, but a combination of set-up problems and reliability has meant only in Bahrain did they appear the superior package.
“I’m still confident, I believe in this team and think we can improve,” Vettel continued.
“I think we have a good car but haven’t managed yet to put it where it belongs, so it’s difficult to have the trust and the feel [to push the performance].”
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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was asked to respond to the four-time world champion’s ‘boring’ comment and admits from an outside perspective he could understand why.
“I don’t think it’s boring,” he stated. “As a fan, I would like to see different winners and a big fight from start to finish, but I lead the Mercedes team, and I do everything so that it performs as well as possible.”