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Vettel: There is plenty of work for Ferrari to do

16:02, 28 Apr 2019

byJake Williams-Smith

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari has a lot of work to do ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. Mercedes took a fourth-straight one-two finish in 2019 with Valtteri Bottas winning from Lewis Hamilton.

Already 74 points behind Mercedes in the constructor standings, Ferrari appears to be all at sea having looked the class of the field during winter testing.

While the SF90 appears to have strong pace hidden somewhere, Vettel admitted it has been difficult to keep up with Mercedes so far in 2019.

"The first stint was really poor. I really struggled to initially get the tyres to work. I think they were too cold and I damaged them and by the time they were hot they were damaged," Vettel explained after the race.

"I was really uncomfortable, inconsistent and couldn't get a feel or confidence in the car. After that I was already looking forward to a difficult stint on the medium tyres but had no problem switching them on.

"I think we had some pace to at least go with Mercedes and sometimes put some pressure on. It was crucial to keep third, crucial for Charles to get the fastest lap and snatch it away from the Mercedes boys.

"Still plenty of work for us to do but we need to maximise what we can."

The Italian team will be hoping that they have a return to form in two weeks time as F1 returns to the scene of winter testing where Ferrari looked so dominant.