F1: I Feel Better Than Last Year, Says Vettel

Formula 1

F1: I Feel Better Than Last Year, Says Vettel

Red Bull driver says test has been good...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted February 08, 2013 Jerez, ES

Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Infiniti Red Bull Racing takes part in Formula One winter testing at Circuito de Jerez in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sebastian Vettel says that Red Bull is better off than it was at this time last year, when the team had issues with both reliability and performance.

Third fastest overall today, Vettel ended his day a little early after what the team described a minor problem with a test item that was being evaluated, but otherwise the dark blue car ran without dramas throughout the week.

“I think for the whole team it’s been quite a good test,” said Vettel. “No problems in terms of reliability and we did a lot of laps, so I’m quite pleased with the results. I feel a bit better than last year. I think we had some issues with reliability then, so it seems we have done our homework well.

“Looking ahead, I think the Barcelona test will maybe reveal a bit more, but just because people are running more and teams will play around a bit more there. So if you keep your eyes open you might spot some stuff.

“However, as I’ve said before, we just focus on what we do. In Barcelona we’ll learn more about ourselves and maybe a little bit about our rivals. It should be interesting.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 28th season as a racing journalist in 2012. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.