Vettel: Bahrain Win was “Close to Perfect”

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel lauds the team’s efforts and their recent success at Bahrain as “close to perfect”.

Sebastien Vettel has managed to take another victory for himself and team Ferrari as he steals 1st in Bahrain right from under the noses of Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The pair of Silver Arrows could do naught but watch as Vettel rode away with the crown, even after a team order placed Hamilton ahead of Bottas in an attempt to close the distance and catch Vettel. At the end of the night, Hamilton suffered too much at the expense of a bad start and fought back a five-second penalty he incurred after a pitlane incident and Bottas tailed Vettel for far too long to mount a proper attack.

Alas, at the end, Ferrari has emerged once again to firmly confirm their presence in the title fight, breaking the expected Mercedes victories not just once, but twice. Vettel was understandably over the moon with his results, going so far as to call the night’s win “close to perfect”:

“The car really worked well tonight, and obviously then you enjoy it every single lap. I think the middle stint for us was crucial staying ahead after the safety car, and then getting some really good and consistent laps in on the super-soft tire.

And then at the end we could control it a little bit. We had a fresh set so I didn’t have to go flat out at the beginning of the last stint which helped, and we had enough tire to respond at the end.

I think already after the first couple of laps I felt the car was good. We stayed close with Valtteri and put him under pressure. It was obviously important to split them at the start. I would say a close to perfect night.” – Sebastien Vettel

Vettel’s car was clearly in peak performance throughout the night – a stark contrast to his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, who could be heard complaining about his car at several points throughout the Grand Prix as he battled his way back up the pecking order to secure 4th place for himself once again.

Vettel has emerged as the hungrier of the two without doubt, but is there any truth in the rumour that Ferrari are funnelling more resources in his direction, with Kimi only acting as a supporting player?