Vettel: Ferrari "fired up" for 2016

Ferrari are going to be challenging Mercedes on a more regular basis next year, reckons Sebastian Vettel. He said after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that the team will be working non-stop over the winter to ensure they have a car capable of fighting for the championship.

“If you consider where we were in winter testing, probably something like 1.5 seconds behind, and now after a Grand Prix distance around 10-15 seconds behind, I think we are definitely doing the right things,” he said.

“We know there is still an awful lot to do, we know that Mercedes is very strong, not just the car, not just the engine, not just their drivers, it’s the package. But I believe we can be better than them. I believe they are beatable, especially when we get closer, so we are very fired up about next year.

“In the end we don’t want to play chasing anymore. We want to be the favourites going in and we want to be the dominant force, we want to turn it around, so to do that you simply have to focus on yourself. Obviously it also depends on the steps that others are making, but for now it doesn’t matter. We have to keep our feet on the ground, our heads down and work for ourselves.

“We know that we can improve our car, we know that we can improve our power unit, our engine and also I think from our side, from the drivers’ side we can do better. So if we get all of this together, I think it could make us very strong but ‘would/could/should’ for now, there’s a lot of work ahead and we’ll focus on that every single day.”

Nico Rosberg was also asked about the threat of Ferrari next year, but is confident that Mercedes will still be a step ahead of their rivals in 2016.

“For sure, [Ferrari] are going to be a massive threat,” he said, “But we have a great car too. If I continue this qualifying performance I wouldn’t mind the occasional red car in between Lewis and I! But other than that, we are the guys to beat so I’m confident.”

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