Vettel's spirits not dampened by Melbourne rain

Wet weather at the Albert Park circuit prevented Vettel from posting a time in the first practice session and the German was only eighth fastest later in the day.

Sebastian Vettel confident Ferrari will make its presence felt in Melbourne.

Sebastian Vettel said there will be no excuses from Ferrari if they fail to make their presence felt in the Australian Grand Prix following a lack of practice on Friday.

Wet weather at the Albert Park circuit prevented Vettel from posting a time in the first practice session and the German was only eighth fastest later in the day.

Ferrari have been tipped to provide more of a challenge for Mercedes this year, but reigning champion Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep of free practice.

And Vettel said the Melbourne rain will not be the reason if Ferrari fall short this weekend.

Asked why he did not post a time in FP1, the four-time world champion said: "I was trying but every time I got out it started to rain. I think there were a lot of people who were struggling today with the conditions. 

"Sometimes it's like this. It was supposed to rain all day, it didn't but it was raining every now and then which was enough to wet parts of the track. 

"There was not much we could learn today. It was not ideal but in the end what can you do? It's the same for everyone."