Vettel: Hamilton “the only one who doesn’t have a short memory”

Was it a joke? Rather a dig at his detractors. Sebastian Vettel is well aware of this: his repeated errors have placed him in the crosshairs of critics. 

The latest occurred in Sakhir two weeks ago when the quadruple world champion spun while fighting with Lewis Hamilton. A mistake which follows the litany of blunders which prevented the German from playing for the 2018 title until the end last year.

On the evening of his victory in Bahrain, the Briton defended Vettel by recalling his rich record and mentioning a very low rate of errors when compared to the number of Grand Prix starts of the driver of the Team.

« Maybe he's the only one who doesn't have a short memory, reacted Vettel to the Englishman’s comments from Shanghai. I am in F1 for a while and I want to beat Lewis as much as he wants to take the best. When you're not in the same stable, it's hard to know exactly what's going on. Sometimes things don't go your way. 

When you don't understand the situation exactly, it's very difficult to say. I know people judge you on your last weekend. That's life. I didn't know Lewis was nice to me, that's cool of him ». 

Visibly less quick than his young teammate Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, Vettel admits that he has not yet rediscovered the positive sensations he had at the wheel of the SF90 during the winter tests in Barcelona where Ferrari had dominated the proceedings. 

« I still wasn't happy with the feeling in Bahrain, he summed up. I know I can do better and I still have a lot of races to prove it ». 

In fact, the German is well aware that he must react this weekend in China, at the risk of seeing his position within the Scuderia weakened.