Sebastian Vettel says he is not concerned by his limited mileage in Friday free practice for the Australian Grand Prix, with the Ferrari driver unable to post a time in FP1.
Tricky wet-weather conditions led to a disjointed opening day in Melbourne, which denies teams a genuine opportunity to complete long runs on slicks and properly assess tyre wear.
When asked if he was comfortable having just one practice session to prepare for the race having not set a time in FP1, Vettel replied: “I was trying but every time I got out it started to rain.
“I think there were a lot of people that were struggling today with the conditions. Of course we would have liked the sun to come out earlier as now it’s sunny but that’s how it is. Practice was very limited and for sure impacts on the weekend but it does for everyone.
“Sometimes it’s like this. It was supposed to rain all day, it didn’t but it was raining every now and then which was enough to wet parts of the track. In the end it was the same for everyone so not much we could learn today.”
A new qualifying format will be used for the first time on Saturday, which Vettel says adds to the unknown of the opening weekend.
“Well we have an idea [how it will work], yes, but how it pans out I think we need to wait and see. I think it’s new for everyone so theory is one thing but then once we start going it’s a different thing.”
Vettel ended up with only 15 laps in the bank across both Friday sessions, logging the eighth fastest time in the second free practice.
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