Four-time world champ Sebastian Vettel isn’t overly confident of his team’s chances when the Formula 1 season kicks off in Melbourne in a couple of weeks.
Red Bull Racing drivers Vettel and Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo ran into a magnitude of problems during testing in recent weeks and their situation doesn’t appear to have improved since.
“First of all, just getting to the finish would be a success,” the German told broadcaster Servus TV.
“If half the drivers fail to finish, then maybe we could take a few points.”
Red Bull’s latest round of testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain was hampered by electrical issues leading to comments from Austrian Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko suggesting Vettel’s hunt for a remarkable fifth straight title could start in an ugly position.
“We are not where we want to be,” said Marko.
“The start of the season has come at least two months too early for us. It will be difficult to catch up, we don’t know when or if that is possible.”
Meanwhile Red Bull boss Christian Horner is hoping the pairing of Vettel with Ricciardo creates a better chemistry than that of the turbulent relationship with former Aussie teammate Mark Webber.
Horner believes the two have gotten off to a good start with the young Australian soaking up the German’s wealth of experience.
“(Ricciardo is) approaching it in exactly the right way. He’s learning from Seb and his experience, and just working with him will benefit his own experience,” Horner told the AAP.
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Horner listed reliability as the main concern for a number of teams heading into the Melbourne Grand Prix, saying the demand of the city’s track will test the 100kg fuel limit as F1 enter a new season with V6 engines instead of V8s.
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