F1 Racing Australia - May 2018

If Ferrari have they are

a match for Mercedes, it is also valid to ask whether

Vettel believes, deep down, that he really is a better

driver than Hamilton, in the way that on very

ieves he is a

It’s unlikely that question will be answered for some

time – if ever. And it is almost certainly not relevant,

because Vettel has a more tangible goal in mind than

that. It’s not just about a number for him either. He

wants to be the next person to win the championship

for Ferrari, and to follow in the footsteps of his hero

now the biggest challenge and dream I have. It’s what I want to achieve.”

a

move; it was only a matter of when.

IN

IA T’S

When Alonso began to lose faith in Ferrari through

2013, the idea began to solidify in the mind of Ferrari

president Luca di Montezemolo. In 2014, Alonso f

out with new team

was s

Ricci

Alon

Vette

let him exit and hi egan.

“Ferrari has something unique,” says Vettel,

“something that other teams don’t have... it appears that

s

haven’t yet achieved what we wanted to achieve.”

Andrew Benson is BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

VLQ

tage with

th who are

H

nce. A fast but

FXLWV PDGH WKHP

ed ready to defeat

bilities – both

rms of reliability. If

9 kept the strengths

of the W08 and eliminated many of its weaknesses,

Hamilton could m ke the championship a walkover.

[For a full analysis of Mercedes’, Ferrari’s and Red

Bull’s 2018 technical approaches, turn to p49.]

THEY’R

FIGHTIN

WIT

THE FIGHT

a