Ferrari will be even stronger in 2016 - Vettel

Sebastian Vettel is certain Ferrari will be "even stronger" as a team in 2016 than last season.

The four-time world champion took three victories in his first season as a Ferrari driver as he finished third in the drivers' championship. Vettel was not the only new face at Ferrari as the team had a new president in Sergio Marchionne and new team principal in Maurizio Arrivabene.

Having been Mercedes' nearest rival despite a season of change in terms of key personnel, Vettel says Ferrari is more capable of fighting at the front this year.

"We had a fantastic year last year - obviously my first season with the team - and we all want more," Vettel said.  "Last year, we finished second overall in the constructors' championship so there is only one more step which is a difficult one to take but hopefully this car will help us achieve it.

"We have improved in many areas. When I joined the team there were a lot of people changing their positions and it was a difficult time to have expectations. But now we have had a much better winter to prepare and therefore we will be a strong team - as we have seen already last year - but even stronger this year."

Ferrari launched its new car - the SF16-H - online on Friday afternoon, with Arrivabene setting the team the target of fighting for the championship until the end of the season.

VIDEO: Mercedes W07 on track at Silverstone

GALLERY: First pictures of the FW38

Check out Red Bull Racing's 2016 livery

Key dates for the 2016 F1 season

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Colapinto camp stepped in after Ocon clash to prevent death threats

Franco Colapinto’s management opted for an extraordinary defensive maneuver after the Alpine driver’s clash with…

5 hours ago

F1 The Movie wins Oscar for Best Sound

F1 The Movie took a victory lap on Sunday evening at the 98th Academy Awards,…

6 hours ago

Formula 1's first and last unofficial starter

German driver Hans Heyer was born on this day in 1943, and while his main…

7 hours ago

Stella confirms engine-related failures, but won’t blame Mercedes

McLaren endured a bitterly frustrating weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix as both of its…

8 hours ago

Kirkwood beats Palou to claim Arlington IndyCar glory

Kyle Kirkwood delivered a masterpiece on Sunday in the shadows of AT&T Stadium, proving that…

9 hours ago

‘A horror show’: Wolff links Verstappen’s attacks to Red Bull’s woes

While Max Verstappen continues to wage a verbal war against Formula 1’s 2026 regulations, Mercedes…

10 hours ago