Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari still has a large deficit to Mercedes but thinks the Spanish Grand Prix will give a true indication of the SF15-T's potential.
It was during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya Ferrari first showed a glimpse of the gains it had made over the winter and it has since firmly established itself as second in the pecking order. Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix at the Barcelona circuit Niki Lauda has been quoted as saying Ferrari's power unit is now on a par with Mercedes' but Vettel is taking that with a pinch of salt.
"First of all, Niki says a lot," Vettel said about the three-time world champion's comment. "I hope he is right and hopefully we can be more than a little bit more than close. Not so long ago, three months, we were here for winter testing and the gap between everyone and Mercedes was huge. I think what has happen between then for us is very positive if we can keep the trend up then it is very good news but there is still the gap there and it is still big."
Vettel thinks the result in Barcelona this weekend will give Ferrari an idea of how competitive it can be in the next few races.
"Historically Barcelona is a good indication of how strong your package is. I think if we can show we've made a step forward here then I guess that would be the case for the racing coming. Gradually you have to improve because that is the speed of Formula 1 but it is a good reference if you are faster here.
"What we need to do is be faster in every condition and especially in the race when it matters for the points. That is what we are targeting. It's true we know the circuit very well as we have been here for winter testing and I think the way the car behave we are very happy which is a positive. But the conditions are very different, between 15 and 20 degrees hotter. It can change a lot of things. Also we have the experience of the first four races and I think we were able to learn a lot and improve the car which we can carry into this weekend."