Sebastian Vettel says his second place in the Australian GP is proof that the Red Bull RB8 has great potential, but they need to improve its qualifying pace if they’re to give McLaren a tougher challenge.
The German qualified in sixth behind his teammate but a great start saw him up to fourth behind Michael Schumacher. With the Mercedes driver retiring with gearbox issues, Vettel was gifted third before clever strategy and raw pace secured him second, and at times he closed he gap to Jenson Button in the lead, but admitted the McLaren was too quick to beat on Sunday.
“Congratulations to McLaren and Jenson – he drove a fantastic race, he was unbeatable today but I am happy to come away with second,” Vettel said in the post-race press conference.
“A lot of people did not expect it [this result] after yesterday,” he added.
With his teammate Mark Webber coming in fourth behind the second McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, the double world champion is confident that the RB8 has what it needs to win races.
“It was a positive race for us, one we knew would be a difficult one – so to come second with a lot of points is important.
“The car has a lot of potential. I would have loved to be in a better position yesterday. Now we need to address problems and make sure we give them a harder time next week.”
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