Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel finished in seventh position at the Spanish Grand Prix, almost matching his season-best result of P6 which he managed at the Hungarian GP in July.
The result brings Vettel to eleventh in the Formula 1 driver standings, with the outgoing Ferrari driver picking up 16 points from the six races held so far this season.
Vettel has consistently been outperformed by teammate Charles Leclerc this season, who currently sits fourth in the standings.
Leclerc retired from the Spanish GP with a technical failure as he went through the chicane in the final sector of the circuit.
Tensions flared between Ferrari and Vettel this weekend. The German driver didn’t a single word on the radio during qualifying and later clashed with his race engineer over strategy during the race.
When asked by the team for his thoughts on finishing the race on the soft tyre, Vettel replied, “Ah, f**k sake, I asked you this before.”
He was frustrated that Ferrari hadn’t told him to conserve his tyres earlier in the Grand Prix, which made it more difficult for him to nurse the tyres to the finish line.
Vettel later got back on the radio and said: “I can do that. Let’s try. There’s nothing to lose.”
Despite the mildly encouraging result, Vettel said there is still more work to be done as he looks to improve his performance in the remainder of the season.
With Vettel clearly not wanted at Ferrari and their relationship going downhill, some F1 pundits and former drivers have called for Vettel to leave the team before the end of the season.
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