Vettel: Ferrari victory in Brazil will silence allegations

  • Published on 16 Nov 2019 15:33
  • comments 1
  • By: Dieter Rencken & Fergal Walsh

Sebastian Vettel believes a successful weekend for Ferrari in Sao Paulo will silence allegations that the team is cheating with its engine. 

Speaking after the US Grand Prix, where Ferrari's pace slumped on the same week the FIA issued a technical directive to the teams, Max Verstappen stated: "That's what you get when you stop cheating".

Another technical directive was handed out on the build-up to the Brazilian Grand Prix, which informs the teams that they can't bring flammable liquids from the intercooler, air inlet or the ERS system to the combustion chambers of the engine.

On Friday, data suggested that Ferrari held a significant advantage on the straights compared to rivals Mercedes and Red Bull, however Dr Helmut Marko suspects the team had their engines turned up.

Ferrari topped the second practice session on Friday, with Vettel narrowly leading teammate Charles Leclerc in what was a disrupted day of running due to mixed weather conditions. 

Vettel insists that Ferrari is not seeking to silence anybody, but admits it would be a nice "side effect" of winning this weekend's race. 

"There's nothing for me to silence but yeah, it helps," Vettel said. "We want to win here, and if finish one and two then it will have a silencing effect on that front. 

"Maybe it's a nice side effect, but our silence is not to silence people. Our target is to win races."

Vettel taking little notice of his 100th Ferrari grand prix

Vettel will race his 100th grand prix for Ferrari this weekend, having joined the team for the start of the 2015 season.

The German is taking little notice of the number, stating that his 102nd race, which will be the opening event of the 2020 season, is more important. 

"It sounds like a lot of races, just for the numbers sake, hopefully it's a good one. But I'm looking forward more to the races this year, we'll try to do the best we can and focus on next year. So I guess the 102nd race will be more important."

Replies (1)

Login to reply
  • i feel they would be found out by now

    • + 0
    • Nov 16 2019 - 20:34

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Aston Martin
  • Points 1,480
  • Podiums 56
  • Grand Prix 161
  • Country DE
  • Date of b. Jul 3 1987 (37)
  • Place of b. Heppenheim, DE
  • Weight 62 kg
  • Length 1.75 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar