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 After a dismal year, when the Italian team failed to win a single
Grand Prix for the first time since 1993, 2015 could only get
better.
The early signs have been encouraging. On Saturday, Sebastian Vettel
qualified fourth for the Australian opener while team mate Kimi
Raikkonen was fifth.
With five world championships between them, the Ferrari drivers know
what it takes to win. Both are excited by the improvement Ferrari
has shown but too streetsmart to get carried away just yet.
"Let’s keep our feet on the ground," said Vettel. "So far this
weekend, it’s gone well and we’ve had no problems with the car.
"It’s a shame that third place escaped us, as that would have made
us the first team behind Mercedes, but it wasn’t by much and, after
all the race is tomorrow."
Mercedes still have a big advantage over the rest, but Ferrari are
in the mix behind them.
Four times world champion Vettel, who joined Ferrari this season
from Red Bull, said he might have qualified higher but for a
mistake.
"We lost third place because my first run wasn’t quick enough. I’m
not very pleased with myself, because there was still some
performance to be found," he said.
"First and second are a long way in front, but the race is tomorrow
and anything can happen during the Grand Prix.
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"A podium? There’s not much of a gap between third and fourth on the
grid, so I think the podium is a realistic goal and that’s what we
have to aim for."
Raikkonen also admitted to errors but, like Vettel, was pleased at
the way things were going.
"During free practice, we saw that our long runs are pretty good, so
we can be confident of having a good race," said the Finn, the last
Ferrari driver to win a world title in 2007.
"All we need to do is get a good start and then give it our best,
but I think we can fight for a good position. As a team, we are
working well together and we have a pretty clear picture of the
situation.
"We know we are quick, but we need to improve in all sectors and, as
for myself, I have to drive better."
(Reporting by Julian Linden, editing by Alan Baldwin)
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