Vettel and Ferrari 'fired up' for 2018 after unveiling SF71H

Ferrari revealed the SF71H on Thursday and Sebastian Vettel says they have learnt their lessons after finishing second to Mercedes in 2017.

Published : Feb 22, 2018 22:22 IST

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari are "completely fired up" as they seek to end Mercedes' Formula One dominance with their new SF71H.

Both teams unveiled their challengers on Thursday, Ferrari showcasing their car at Maranello while the Silver Arrows showcased the W09 at Silverstone.

Mercedes have claimed the drivers' and constructors' title in each of the past four seasons - finishing 146 points ahead of second-placed Ferrari in 2017 - but Vettel is optimistic ahead of the coming campaign.

The German split the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas in the drivers' championship standings last term, and believes the new SF71H will give Ferrari the opportunity to build on their progress.

"The step that we have done in 2017 was incredible," he said. "The way the team has come out with a competitive car at the beginning, the way we have improved both chassis and engine, on all fronts I think it has been outstanding.

"We have been close for most of the year, not close enough when it mattered, but that's what happened.

"From that we made our conclusions, we learned our lessons. So I believe that those will help us. We are completely fired up."

"[The car] looks nice and usually when it looks nice, there's speed also," added Vettel's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.

"We will see that next week and the first race the halo looks different but to be honest we tried it last year and it wasn't a big difference.

"You get used to it and you don't really notice it. With this car, it's designed into it so you shouldn't see it when you're driving."

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