Vettel: Gap to win fair reflection of what Ferrari is missing

Sebastian Vettel feels finishing a minute down on Hungarian Grand Prix victor Lewis Hamilton is a “fair” reflection of where Ferrari is lacking in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Ferrari arrived in Budapest expecting the tight and twisty Hungaroring circuit to expose its slow corner weakness compared to rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.

The team’s pre-race predictions came to fruition on Sunday as Vettel managed to claim the final spot on the podium but trailed race-winner Hamilton home by over a minute.

“I tried everything obviously but I can’t be happy because we are not fast today,” Vettel conceded.

“I think losing 60 seconds in 70 laps is probably fair, that’s what we are missing. Maybe we didn’t pick the absolute fastest strategy but we’re just not quick enough today.

“A lot of homework for us. It’s not really an eye-opener, we knew before. It’s up to us to address it in the next couple of months to try and hopefully make a difference by the end of the year.”

While Vettel remains confident about Ferrari’s chances of ending its winless streak in 2019 at upcoming power-sensitive tracks such as Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, he admits the Maranello squad still needs to address the weaker areas of its complex SF90 challenger.

“Of course there are always positives,” Vettel explained.

“On paper Spa, Monza should be a bit better for us but we need to confirm. We know that in the corners we struggle and the nature of race tracks, they have corners in them.

“So we would like to build a car faster in the corners. We are trying everything we can but currently it is not enough.

“I think everybody knows, everybody saw and everybody understands but it’s not easy to come up with magic solutions.

“You always look for a silver bullet but I’ve never come across a guy that’s actually found it in over 10 years. We keep looking though but that’s where we are.”