Sebastian Vettel has stated that he is “not too worried” about the gap to Mercedes after finishing third in qualifying for the Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton clinched a sixth consecutive pole position in Melbourne, beating team-mate Valtteri Bottas in what was a close dual between the Mercedes pair.
Vettel ended up a distant third for Ferrari, 0.704 seconds behind Hamilton’s benchmark.
His team-mate Charles Leclerc qualified in fifth place, nearly a full second adrift of pole.
The result contradicted the form guide from pre-season testing, with Hamilton suggesting on the final day in Barcelona that Mercedes was 0.5s behind the pacesetting Ferraris.
“By the looks of things they had a pretty tidy qualifying,” Vettel said. “For us, it was ok but compared to those guys we were just not quick enough.
“The race is tomorrow though and we have a good car.
“This track is very specific so I’m not too worried but, for sure, it’s not great. I would have loved for it to be the other way round.”
At last season’s Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton was similarly dominant in qualifying and was 0.664s clear of the field. Ferrari then completed two front row lockouts at the next two races in Bahrain and China.
Hamilton was unable to convert pole in Australia to a win in either 2017 or ’18, with Vettel scooping victory on both occasions by leapfrogging Hamilton through the pitstops.
“You never know what’s [going to happen],” he added. “Last year, we got a bit lucky but the race is over when there is the chequered flag.
“Mercedes are the clear favourites after the result today and the pace they have shown so far, but we’re here to race. Otherwise, it would be quite dull and I’m sure everyone would agree.
“We’ll see tomorrow – I think our starts are quite handy so we will go from there.”
