Vettel, racing again with Australian team-mate Mark Webber for the fifth
season after beating him in the four previous ones, will have to wait until
Wednesday for his first taste of the car at the Jerez test track.
“The focus is really on pretty much the same as every year,” he said. “Start
the season the right way, have a good first race in Melbourne, make sure
that in testing we have prepared the car as much as we can. Whether it’s
quick or not, we will see.
“Hopefully we are up there. There is no guarantee for that even though we were
doing pretty good in the last couple of years…I think it’s probably the
same teams as last year,” he added.
“I don’t expect any miracles but equally I expect a very long and very tough
season. Lots of races, close racing… hopefully at the end of the year we
can say it all worked out.”
As for the off-season, Vettel said: “I’ve been pretty quiet, not done much.
I’ve been fortunate to stay at home, especially after what was a tough end
to last season which drained the energy.
“So I was able to enjoy being at home, enjoy the things that were awaiting me
there, some DIY, stuff you don’t have time to do during the season. I
enjoyed that, and I enjoyed sleeping in my own bed, making my own breakfast,
rather than sleeping in a hotel and having the buffet.”
The new car is a clear evolution from last year’s but with notable design
tweaks.
“The devil is really in the detail with this car,” Newey said. “Perhaps the
most significant change is not in the regulations, it’s the new Pirelli
tyres.”