Vettel admits Mercedes looking 'tough to beat' in Brazil

Sebastian Vettel feels Mercedes will "tough to beat" in this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix despite initial hopes Ferrari's Formula 1 car would be stronger and able to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. 

Vettel came sixth in FP1 - behind both Mercedes drivers, his teammate and both Red Bulls - which was followed by a P4 finish in FP2 as he trailed Hamilton, Bottas and Ricciardo. 

Ferrari looked unable to compete with Mercedes for pace through practice despite trying different setups over the sessions, leaving Vettel to turn attention to a fight with Red Bull to be second-fastest in Brazil.

"I think we got more running than expected. There was no rain and it made it a bit easier, but I think overall it’s pretty straightforward: Mercedes seems to be the quickest and then it’s pretty close between Red Bull and us," Vettel said.

Having lost the championship to Hamilton in Mexico, Vettel said that Ferrari was already preparing for 2018 - and had been since the earliest 2017 test: "We've been doing it for a while. Since the first test in winter, we've put things on for next year."

At least for the moment, however, he seemed resigned to Mercedes running clear at the front in Interlagos, even with conditions tipped to be cooler through qualifying with the threat of rain.

"We'll see what we get tomorrow. I think we can fine-tune the balance and that should help us," Vettel said.

"As I said, it will be tough to beat Mercedes. They look quick in all conditions, all tyres. So we'll see."