Vettel: New car will make Ferrari stronger in 2016

Vettel won three races in his debut season with Ferrari but finished third in the drivers’ competition.

Published : Feb 20, 2016 15:22 IST , London

Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Scuderia Ferrari drives during wet weather tyre testing at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.
Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Scuderia Ferrari drives during wet weather tyre testing at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.
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Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Scuderia Ferrari drives during wet weather tyre testing at Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.

Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari will be “even stronger” than last year following the launch of its new SF16-H car for the 2016 season.

The team is looking to challenge Mercedes after finishing second in the 2015 constructors’ championship. Vettel won three races in his debut season with Ferrari but finished third in the drivers’ competition.

“We had a fantastic year last year and we all want more. When I joined the team there were a lot of people changing their positions and it was a difficult time to have expectations,” Vettel was quoted as saying by the BBC on Friday.

“But now we have had a much better winter to prepare and therefore we will be a strong team — as we have seen already last year — but even stronger this year,” he added.

The new car sees Ferrari revert to the push-rod suspension for the first time in four years and large sections of white on its livery.

Germany-born Vettel will once again partner Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen, who won the team’s last drivers’ title in 2007.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has said that it would be “a tragedy” if the team failed to win a title in a 10-year span.

The 2016 season starts with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne from March 18-20.

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