Mercedes out of reach for Vettel

At the end of the second free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Sebastian Vettel showed himself to be the fastest of the “others” behind the two Mercedes W06 Hybrid by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. Third by more than seven tenths, the four-time world champion believes that the Silver Arrows have set the bar very high.

« Mercedes is out of reach, we must be realistic, explains the new pilot Ferrari. But every team and every driver strives to be at the front and we can be satisfied with the work we did today. It was a good day with no problems with the car. It seems that the work done during the winter, both on the track and at the factory in Maranello, is paying off. Our positive trend continues, particularly regarding reliability. As for performance, the higher you are on the timesheet, the better. But it's only Friday and I'm Formula 1 long enough to know that today's times aren't that important. »

For his part, Kimi Räikkönen was able to progress his car in the right direction in EL2, after a difficult first session. “In the first session, I couldn't drive well and it was difficult to complete a perfect complete lap. So for the second session we made some changes before the long stints and at the end the feeling was much better. I think the whole package has progressed, but there is still work to be done. »

The third free practice session will begin tomorrow morning at 4 a.m., before qualifying scheduled for 7 a.m. Photos from the Australian Grand Prix can be viewed here.