Sebastian Vettel will be provided with a new chassis for the Spanish Grand Prix in an effort to get to the bottom of the four-time champion’s troubles.
Vettel has been unable to match team-mate Daniel Ricciardo throughout qualifying and the race and, whilst some of that is down to issues outside of his control, he is still losing time to the young Australian.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner put it down to set-up initially, but speaking to Sport Bild, Helmut Marko says the issue may lay with the chassis itself.
“We don’t understand why Vettel’s tyre wear was so much higher than Ricciardo’s,” said the Austrian.
“We are now investigating whether his chassis has a fault.
“When a new one [chassis] is ready, Vettel will get it,” he confirmed. It’s believed Red Bull will have a new chassis available to the German for the Spanish GP.
Should the chassis prove to be fine, Marko has no doubts Vettel will find the cause and be back to his best.
“This year is so complex that even the engineers don’t understand everything,” he said. “That makes it even harder for Seb to tune the car to his needs.
“But Sebastian is a perfectionist. He will tinker with it until he gets it right.”
