Vettel ninth in P2 after colliding with the barriers twice in Monaco; Refuses to admit Ferrari are now third fastest team
Tuesday 31 May 2016 11:38, UK
Sebastian Vettel admitted he was unable to unleash Ferrari's true pace on a day to forget for the German at the Monaco GP.
A lack of grip seemed to be a problem for all drivers in Monte Carlo but Vettel struggled more than most, particularly in Practice Two when he collided with the barriers twice.
Vettel first damaged his rear wing at Mirabeau before losing his back-end again at Sainte Devote, narrowly avoiding another accident but damaging the SF16-H's alloys on his way to a disappointing ninth place.
P2: Ricciardo fastest from Hamilton as Red Bull impress
Both the Scuderia and the four-time world champion and are under pressure to perform after an inconsistent start to the season, and he admitted it was a "scrappy day" despite finishing third in P1.
"I certainly tried a lot, not everything worked," he told Sky Sports F1. "Overall it was a bit of a scrappy day. It's ok, I think the pace is in the car, we just struggled a bit to get it out today.
"There's always pressure. There's always the desire to do well. You could call it pressure but it's also the reason we are here. We're not here to finish eighth, or fifth, we're here to win."
Ferrari chief Sergio Marchionne issued a stark warning ahead of the Spanish GP, stating he expected a first win of 2016 sooner rather than later. However, his team then failed to capitalise on both Mercedes crashing out in Barcelona.
It was Red Bull who took their chances on that occasion, and again in Monaco the four-time constructors' champions looked to be the Silver Arrows' main rivals with their package suiting the low-speed corners at F1's showpiece event.
Daniel Ricciardo finished six tenths clear of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in P2, while Kimi Raikkonen could only manage seventh and ninth on Thursday. But when asked if Ferrari were now the third fastest team, Vettel added:
"No. It's difficult to say what people did. As from us we didn't have a good day. If you look at the standings we do not belong there, we will be a lot better on Saturday.
"For today, it was not the main focus to rank high up. As I said, the running we had today was a bit scrappy. We tried a couple of things and it's fair to say some of them didn't work."
