Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari now definitively have a strong car for all circuits after claiming their first win at the Belgian GP this decade in emphatic style.
Lewis Hamilton conceded Mercedes were “blitzed” by the impressive pace of their rivals in defeat at Spa, while Toto Wolff said the reigning champions “weren’t good enough”.
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Ferrari’s challenge last year was hindered by fluctuating form from circuit to circuit but Vettel is sure they have finally cracked the challenge of producing a versatile car.
“We have a good car that seems to work everywhere,” a jubilant Vettel told Sky F1 after cutting Hamilton’s title lead to 17 points with eight rounds to go.
“I don’t think the car was there right from the beginning, but we’ve got it to the point where it works everywhere and now we’re competitive.
0:55 Sebastian Vettel never looked back after overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the first lap of the Belgian GP.
“We had our deficits last year. We had a car that worked well on twisty tracks where a lot of downforce was required, but we were missing out on tracks where the car needed to be more efficient like here, Silverstone and a couple of other tracks.
“This year the car seems to be more robust in that regard and seems to work everywhere. We improved the package as well, so we’ve done a step forward.”
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Drivers react to Belgian GP
Ferrari and Vettel have now won five races this season, already as many as last year, and ended several long victory droughts in the process.
They won in Canada for the first time since 2004, Britain for the first time since 2011 and have now ended a barren run at Spa which stretched back to 2009.
“It’s key to have a car that works everywhere because that’s been our weaknesses, but we’ve tackled it fairly well,” added Vettel.
And in a telling tribute following their latest engine upgrade at Spa, Vettel said in a Twitter video: “For everyone in the team and especially our engine department, a great boost to hear so many positives about our new engine and our upgrade. Everyone has been working really hard.
“Hopefully we can now carry that momentum and speed into the next race to Monza.”
14:50 Ted Kravitz rounds up all the stories from every driver and team at the Belgian GP
Ferrari have not won any of the last eight Italian GPs at their home circuit, with Mercedes undefeated at Monza since 2013.
“I hope it [victory at Spa] helps boost the race at Monza and for it to stay on the calendar for a long time, as I’ve heard some rumours,” said Vettel, with the event not yet thought to be sold out.
“Looking forward to going to Italy as obviously I spend some time there, but racing in Italy is special for us. It should be a lot of fun.”
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