Vettel eager for close F1 fights to aid Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel says tight performance gaps between Ferrari and its Formula 1 front-running rivals Mercedes and Red Bull would be a positive for him to maximise any opportunities at the 2018 opener in Australia.

The four-time F1 world champion ended Friday practice fifth on the timesheet, over half a second behind fastest driver Lewis Hamilton, as Vettel conceded he hadn’t found the ideal balance and set-up with the SF71H at Albert Park to fully attack the times.

The Ferrari driver hopes he has the most gains to find overnight in order to close the deficit to his rivals and is encouraged by the tight three-way F1 title fight predicted between his team, Mercedes and Red Bull for 2018.

“I certainly think we have a little bit in hand, I wasn’t happy with the lap that I had and with the rhythm and the balance yet so there’s more to come,” Vettel reflected on his Friday practice in Australia. “That’s probably the same for everyone else but I do hope that I can make a bigger step than the others.

“If it’s close then it’s good, it means that you can do something, so hopefully it stays that close. We’ll find out tomorrow.

“I’m not too worried because I know that if I get everything right then we should be in better shape but it looks to be close which is good news.”

12 months ago Vettel stormed to victory for Ferrari in Australia which ignited the 2017 F1 title fight with the German driver leading the standings for 13 races before his disastrous Asia flyaway rounds which effectively dropped him out of the title race.