Vettel ‘very optimistic’ Ferrari can turn form around

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Sebastian Vettel says he is "very optimistic" Ferrari can turn its form around after a disappointing start to the season.

Ferrari entered 2016 with the target of fighting for the championship until the final race of the season, with Mercedes having won the constructors' title four rounds from the end last year and Lewis Hamilton the drivers' championship one race later. While Vettel acknowledges the difficult start Ferrari has had - with one podium in each of the opening four races - he is still hopeful of fighting back.

“Quite a trip so far with not everything going according to plan,” Vettel said. “We could have won the first race if things go a little bit different. So overall, it’s not so bad. We have shown great pace, especially on Sunday, and that’s where you get the points.

“We know that we need to work and we are pushing very hard – but it’s not so easy. Mercedes is doing a great job, those two guys driving the car are going a good job, so it’s a difficult team to beat.

“We are not playing… it’s not a kindergarten, I think it’s for grown-ups and therefore the challenge is tough – but ultimately we want to be the best so we need to be ready to tackle the best and, so far, we’re very optimistic we can turn it around.”

Having failed to start the Bahrain Grand Prix and crashing out of the last race in Russia on the opening lap, Vettel is currently fifth in the drivers' standings with 33 points, 67 points behind championship leader Nico Rosberg.

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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.