Sebastian Vettel has asserted that his recent run of mistakes are not down to any “mental” approach, and has stressed he still has time to “click” with the 2019 Ferrari.
The German has endured a difficult 2019 campaign and now trails team-mate Charles Leclerc in the standings, off the back of the youngster’s successive victories.
Vettel compounded a difficult run of results by spinning in Italy, and came home only 13th, the latest mistake in a string of setbacks.
“I don’t think it’s mental,” he said. “It’s not that I’m in the wrong place, I think I’m doing the right things so that’s why I think it’s crucial not to complicate things too much.
“Here and there I might not have the absolute trust in the car and the best feeling yet, but I think it’s improving, my understanding of the car, and then it’s a question of lining up the details.
“But I’m sure that things will click and start to fall into place, so we need to keep our heads down.
“There’s always things we can do better and that I can do better and work on, so we will see how the next races go.”
The four-time World Champion had been out-qualified across the past seven grands prix by team-mate Leclerc but, while praising the youngster, believes the picture is not fully representative.
“I think first you need to be fair and say that he is very quick,” said Vettel.
“Second, I think we are judging qualifying where I didn’t have the best run. A couple of qualifying sessions where I didn’t take part in Austria and Germany, then Monza only half. But I don’t think there is anything particular standing out.
“I think one is just to be fair and admit that if he outqualifies me then he is doing a better job, but then you need to look at the reasons why.”
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