Vettel disappointed with dip in form

Defending champion admits rivals have made great strides.

BUDAPEST:

Defending champion Sebastian Vettel has declared that it was time Red Bull started thinking about why they are losing races after finishing second behind Jenson Button’s McLaren at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old, who extended his runaway lead at the head of the drivers’ standings despite the result, made it clear he is concerned about his team’s dip in form after one win in five races. He has now gone three without a win after winning five of the opening six this year.

The German was disappointed at the team’s inability to finish on top in Hungary.

“We tried to win, there had been a chance, but we didn’t use it,” he said. “We need to look into that. We’ve seen how quickly things can change so we need to win again.”

Vettel was also wary of the recent surge in form both Ferrari and McLaren have shown in recent races, admitting that they have made big strides forward.

“I think it’s fair to say that in the last couple of events Ferrari and McLaren, on race pace, have made a step forward. We need to know why that’s happened. But we also need to look at ourselves.”

Ferrari seek more pace

Meanwhile, Ferrari plan to find the extra pace they need to improve their qualifying performances and fight for wins for the rest of this year’s championship.

Following Fernando Alonso’s third-place finish, team chief Stefano Domenicali said that a tweak in form is their target.

“This weekend, in terms of the absolute result, there were a lot of things that could have changed the outcome,” he said. “In qualifying, we have to improve Q3 because there’s something that is still not there.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2011.