Vettel: Quite a bit of margin to go faster

Sebastian Vettel says there is "quite a bit of margin" for Ferrari to go faster after Friday practice.

The Scuderia outfit topped both sessions, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc leading one practice outing each.

Leclerc's session topping time in FP2 was almost one and a half tenths up on Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton, in what was a very hot day at Hockenheim.

Vettel says he is happy with the car's pace, but will be hoping for more when the cars take to the circuit on Saturday. 

"I'm pretty happy, it was a better day," Vettel said. "There were a few hiccups here and there to find the rhythm and we lost a bit of time. I had a flat spot on the medium tyre in the afternoon but all in all, pretty good. 

"The car felt good and there's quite a bit of margin to go faster. The car is pretty much the same, it's more conditions, track and how we get along so let's hope we can keep it that way."

Vettel hoping hot conditions stay

However, the remainder of the weekend could play into Mercedes' hands, as it is expected to be a lot cooler on Saturday and Sunday.

Mercedes is known to struggle in the hot temperatures, but Vettel says that it is difficult to know how much margin was left on the table by Ferrari's rivals.

"It's hard to say, I don't know how much Mercedes and Red Bull had to compromise for the heat," Vettel commented. "It impacts everyone so everyone as opening the cooling to the maximum.

"It would be nice to have a really hot race, it's fun in the car... I quite like to break a sweat. I don't know, the forecast says it won't be like today."