Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Vettel unconcerned by Ferrari problems

Sebastian Vettel says problems for Ferrari during pre-season testing so far are not concerning for him.

Kimi Raikkonen was struck by a fuel system issue on his first day in the car last week, while the Finn again lost track time on the opening day of the second test as a result of a gearbox problem which confined him to the garage during part of the afternoon session.

Asked if he is concerned by the problems Ferrari faced on Tuesday, Vettel replied: "Not concerned.

"These things you don’t want them to happen, but if they happen here it is not a problem. If they happen in a couple of weeks it is a bit worse, but it is not an issue. In the test you take the time to look but it takes time."

Vettel was speaking after completing 63 laps on Wednesday morning and insists Ferrari is still on track to be fully ready for the start of the season.

“I think we are on our plan. We have had some days where we would have liked to run a bit more but that is what the test is for. We are pretty happy with where we are.

"I hope [Ferrari is ready for Australia] in a couple of weeks. We still have some time and another two days here, so let’s try to use them and we try to go there."

And asked about Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne's target for the team to qualify on the front row of the grid in Australia, Vettel replied: "We will push and try everything we have, I think he said it a couple of times so at least he is consistent."

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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.