Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrari

Third 'feels like victory' for Vettel

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Sebastian Vettel says it "feels like a victory" to finish third on his debut for Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix.

Starting from fourth on the grid, Vettel followed Felipe Massa for the opening stint of the race before being able to jump the Williams during the pit stops despite stopping later. Having finished on the podium in his first race for Ferrari since switching from Red Bull, Vettel says the result is a special one.

"I think this was a great race for us," Vettel said. "Obviously the start was not ideal, I was very close, I did not succeed to pass Felipe straight away and then we had a great strategy and were able to save some tyres to go the opposite of the usual strategy to overtake someone through the pitstop. so that worked very well.

"Generally it has been very calm, very professional, led by the pitwall throughout the race. Of course it’s not a victory but for us today it feels like a victory."

And Vettel admits his affection for Ferrari gives him an added motivation to help the team build on its encouraging start.

"Obviously it’s a great relief after a horrible season last year to know that the car in general is working. People have done a great job both on engine and chassis sides, so big compliments to Maranello obviously. I’ve secretly been a fan, now officially I can be a fan of Ferrari and since the day I got there, there is something magic about the place.

"I feel very happy. I had a very good time with Red Bull and certainly was able to learn a lot, the experience I can now bring into the new project as well. So, as I said, people are fired up and we know where we want to go.

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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.