Sebastian Vettel says he is firmly in the title fight despite Mercedes' appearing to extend its advantage over Ferrari in the Spanish Grand Prix.
Ferrari has made a clear step forward this season and Vettel took victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix, while he has also finished on the podium in three of the other four races. Although Mercedes comfortably won in Spain - leaving Vettel 31 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton - the four-time world champion is confident his consistency makes him a real contender.
"Yes, I think I’m in the fight," Vettel said. "We are able to improve our car. I think there’s some good steps coming. Obviously our opponent is the favourite for the whole year and was untouchable last year to be fair, so I think the way you need to look at it is not that Mercedes is so strong, the way you need to look at it is that Ferrari was able to close the gap more than anyone else.
"I think we can be proud of that and we are very much willing to take our chance. Obviously we need to start turning things around very soon – but we are pushing to our maximum, trying to beat them soon."
And Vettel doesn't believe the result in Spain is a true reflection of Ferrari's competitiveness compared to Mercedes.
"I don’t think it’s the reality. If you take the average of the first five races, then you have your reality. I think you have to be fair and except that on some tracks you’re a bit more competitive than on others. It seems that for some reason we were not that competitive [in Spain] – even though I think we have improved our car.
"So, not happy with the gap, to be honest. Not happy at all. Obviously they had a pretty easy race at the front, controlling the gaps, controlling the tyres, which then obviously allows you to push when you need to. Whereas for us, we are pushing as hard as we could and that’s where we were at the end."
Click here for Wednesday's gallery from testing at the Circuit de Catalunya
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