After winning his second Grand Prix of the season, Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel now sits just 42 points behind reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton.
And just to clarify, 42 points means basically winning another race and securing another 2nd place, contingent on Hamilton getting in trouble and not scoring any points in those particular races.
If that was to happen, then we would have a genuinely open fight to the finish, in a season during which nobody though Mercedes could be challenged. Looks like both Vettel and Ferrari are up to the task.
“We know we have to remain realistic, that there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of catching up to do. You never know. I’m sure we will try absolutely everything, and try to make the impossible possible,” said the four-time F1 champion.
As for his Ferrari legacy, so far things are looking excellent with two wins and five other podiums in his first 10 races for team.
Vettel also said that “of all the teams I think Ferrari has made the biggest step” and you can’t really argue against that. Williams have stayed pretty much where they were last year – fast enough to compete in some races, but not in the long run, while Red Bull have taken a sizable step back this year.
Next up on the Formula 1 schedule is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa on August 23rd, and that’s truly a power circuit, not unlike Monza on September 6th. So yes, the next two races will certainly favor Mercedes-powered teams, but now at least we know Ferrari are sort of back in the game.
When Vettel won in Malaysia a few months ago, we thought it was nice to see somebody else other than a Mercedes driver win a Grand Prix. This time though, we’re thinking things just got a heck of a lot more interesting.
Story references: Autosport
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