Sebastian Vettel has a firm idea of what he wants during the Portuguese Grand Prix this weekend – a boring weekend and some points.
After a turbulent start with Aston Martin, the German is hoping that his visit to Algarve will be dull.
The four-time world champion had a bunch of issues during pre-season testing when his car gave him problems, leaving him short of the necessary time to acclimatise at his new team.
He managed to gather penalties during both the qualifying and the Grand Prix in Bahrain. To cap it all, he had to start from the pit lane in Imola after his brakes malfunctioned on his way to the grid. Finally, he had to retire from the race towards the end with a gearbox problem.
The German is hopeful that he will soon find a way around these problems in Portimao.
“I want boring now, I’ve had my eventful for the year. I want boring and points,” said Vettel in an interview with Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz.
“We’ll see. We should have a good weekend. I said that the last time as well. The rain was good, I was looking forward to the rain, but then I didn’t even take part in the start.”
Vettel wants to get a better idea about his car.
“There’s still plenty of stuff to go through,” he added. “I think the laps at Imola helped. I think there were some positives despite all the negatives on Sunday. We just need to string it together and have a boring type of weekend to get a true picture.
“In all fairness, I still feel every lap helps in the car. It’s getting better even if you don’t see the progress. We sort of feel it and hopefully we’ll be able to show it.”
The 33-year-old was asked if the rear part of his car was the problem.
“It’s not the rear end, just the whole feel for the car. Some things are still very different and it’s just trying to figure out how the car wants to be driven.
“I don’t think I’m a million miles away. It’s just about marrying the lap together on a Saturday, which can be very crucial.
“The midfield is very tight and that has a big impact. And obviously making sure we start from the grid on a Sunday…these things do make a difference.”
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