Vettel takes stock of what went wrong in 2018

Even if he still symbolically conceded ground to Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) in this season finale of Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) allowed the Scuderia to finish second on the podium on Sunday. The German thus redressed the situation after strategic errors in Brazil two weeks earlier.

During the post-race press conference, the four-time world champion hardly dwelled on the Sunday procession, but spoke more about his future in F1 and the lessons of his lost duel against Mercedes. 

" Obviously, we got lost on the way to the mid-season mark. The elements did not fit together, we took a step back at the end of the year, which allowed us to regain competitiveness, explains the 2018 vice-champion. 

P2! #AbuDhabiGP #Seb5 pic.twitter.com/JIdFsWPRcP

— Team Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 25, 2018

We understood what went wrong, this is a key to the futureHe says. On the other hand, we learned a lot, it was a tough year in general. I think the team is solid and has potential but a lot has happened within the team. The death of our president, Mr. Marchionne, clearly had an impact », recognizes the leader of the Reds since 2015.

Sebastian Vettel does not want to complicate life but will carry out a long, calm debriefing on the campaign which has just ended. “I had no problem admitting my faults when I had made a mistake. I know, as a pilot, how quickly things can change. I think there are some things that went wrong but don't require in-depth analysis. This should not be exaggerated.

#AbuDhabiGP ends with a solid P2 for #Seb5 and a DNF for #Kimi7. We gave it all, thanks to the team #Go Ferrari pic.twitter.com/KTmsbYMLYC

- Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 25, 2018

Certainly, here and there, I haven't been at my best level... I think I can be better than at certain times this year. It's like that, that's why sometimes you love motorsport, but other times you hate it. »

Find the analysis of the F1 season finale carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2193 of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening in digital version and Wednesday on newsstands.