German Grand Prix – “Driving for Ferrari is a privilege”

With the media. Sebastian was one of the panellists in this afternoon’s FIA press conference and he was asked a lot of questions, the first relating to his expectations for the coming weekend. “I want to win on Sunday, that’s the goal for me, for the team and for everyone who is coming here to see us. Even if we can’t claim to be favourites, I am planning to give it my best shot. Race by race we are learning how to get a better understanding of the car and I think that, here in Germany, we should be able to do well,” affirmed Vettel. “So far this season, there have been times when we managed to be very competitive and others when we were less so. However, what is clear to us is that we have made constant progress and I’m sure that over the course of the rest of the year, that will translate into real results.” Sebastian was also asked about the pressure that goes with racing at home and also with driving for Scuderia Ferrari. “Racing with this team never weighs on you. Rather, it’s an honour and a privilege and I’m not scared of the pressure. I’m the one who puts pressure on myself, because I always try and do everything as well as possible. We are giving it our all, we need to take the last step, the most important one and we will not stop until we have made that final leap” he added.

Charles. In the middle of the afternoon in the Scuderia Ferrari media motorhome, it was the turn of Leclerc, who has put in some spectacular drives in recent races. “With Max (Verstappen) in both Austria and Silverstone, we put on a great show. It’s fun to be able to race like this and I hope that there will be more of it in the future, maybe even for the win and for world titles.” Our goal however does not change. “Our reference point is the team that’s been out in front since the start of the season, while for me, the target is to get that first Formula 1 win. We are working hard and in recent races, I managed to find a better way of working with the engineers, managing to set up the SF90 in a way that best suits my driving style” said the Monegasque driver. “I think we’ve done a very good job in qualifying and now we must also optimize our race pace, where there is still room for improvement.” Charles also spoke about his relationship with Sebastian. “It hasn’t changed since the start of the season. We respect one another and work really well together, regularly swapping information. The interest of the team is our number one priority but of course we are racing drivers and we always try and beat one another. We are in Formula 1 and it’s normal that should be the case.” Finally Charles spoke about this being a special weekend for his family, here in Hockenheim, also supporting Arthur. “This is a special weekend for me, because I’ll be able to spend a bit of time with my brother. Today, for example, we did the track walk together and I hope this weekend he can show what he is capable of.”

Programme.  After tomorrow’s free practice, Saturday features the final preparatory hour at noon, before qualifying, which gets underway at 3pm. The German Grand Prix starts at 15.10 on Sunday.