Vettel: Opener won't define Ferrari's season

The 2016 F1 season begins on March 20 at Albert Park in Melbourne.

The German driver is hoping Ferrari can end Mercedes' dominance of F1, but played down the importance of a good result in Australia in regards to how their season will go. 

Sebastian Vettel insists Ferrari's result at the Formula One season opener in Melbourne should not define their entire campaign. Vettel topped the time-sheets in day two of the wet-weather tyre test at Paul Ricard in France, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo going fastest on day one.  

The German driver is hoping Ferrari can end Mercedes' dominance of F1, but played down the importance of a good result in Australia in regards to how their season will go. 

"It's natural that we all want to win - the team is quite big, there's a lot of people and if you ask everyone, I think [they all agree] our target is to win," Vettel said. "But we know it's very ambitious, we know that the gap has been quite big last year. I think we did a good job over the season to come closer.

"This year we have some changes and we will have to see - obviously the testing is crucial to start on the right foot and then we go from there. But Australia is one race from 21. If you win there, it's great, if not - you try to finish as close as possible to the top step and collect as many points. And after that it's a long year."

The 2016 F1 season begins on March 20 at Albert Park in Melbourne.