Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel says he is “not worrying” about finishing a distant and isolated third at the Italian Grand Prix.
The German driver lost the championship lead by completing the podium at Ferrari’s home race, behind the dominant Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Vettel started sixth but moved into fifth in the early stages, before passing Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon to move into third.
From there, it was a lonely race as Ferrari did not have the pace to match or close in on Mercedes, but Vettel is not worried and believes the team will fight back in future races.
“It was entertaining, it was quite good fun,” he said. “Obviously, my start was not so good, I had a lot of wheelspin. It took a while before I could really trust the car, then I made progress.
“We were a bit isolated though, we didn’t have the pace of the leading two drivers today. Nevertheless, going around seeing the people [Ferrari fans] gives a lot of hope.
“I’m still pretty overwhelmed from the lap back to the pits and the podium ceremony. I think it’s been amazing, the power of the people, to see so many fans, for Ferrari it’s unbelievable.
“You could say it’s a bad day, but I know that the team is going the right way. There’s a lot of stuff that’s going to improve.
“Even if this race has been difficult, I know that we have a very, very, very strong car, and will have a very, very strong end of the season, I’m sure of that.”
“We’re only going to get stronger. I’m not worrying… overall it was a difficult weekend, but we have a long way to go, and we have the people behind us.”
