Sebastian Vettel has insisted that reliability is not a major concern for Ferrari after his engine expired on the formation lap.
Vettel, who qualified third on the grid, pulled off the track when smoke began to pour from the Ferrari engine.
The German was forced to jump out the car and spectate, the first time the two-time Bahrain Grand Prix winner has failed to start a race in his career.
When asked if reliability could be a factor for the team, Vettel replied: “Not really. Obviously, it’s not ideal when you park your car before the first lap.
“Over the winter we pushed very hard, some months ago we were looking a lot worse. But we had reason to be confident that we knew what was the problem [over testing] so it came as a surprise — not just for me, but for the whole team.”
Ferrari announced they would investigate how the engine failed, it’s not the first time the Maranello outfit have suffered reliability issues after Raikkonen’s fire in Australia.
However, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene quickly dismissed any similarity between both retirements.
“They are looking, the guys,” he said. “It looks like a valve or a piston injector. This is what I heard. Kimi was the turbo, nothing to do [with Vettel’s].”
Arrivabene also quashed any concerns, he added: “It depends what it is. It could be a valve or a piece of the injector. They need to inspect the engine, this is the first brief they gave to me.”
