Vettel dismisses speculation over Ferrari tension
Sebastian Vettel is adamant there is no tension in the Ferrari ranks despite enduring a difficult start to his final campaign with the team.
While Charles Leclerc sits fourth in the Formula One drivers' standings following impressive back-to-back races at Silverstone, former world champion Vettel finds himself in 13th.
The German was in poor form at the British circuit, qualifying far behind his team-mate before taking just one point from the two races, with the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix a particularly difficult one for Vettel.
After spinning on his own at the first corner, Vettel appeared to have been angered by team strategy to leave him in 11th place compared to Leclerc's fourth-placed finish.
However, Vettel, who was been linked with a move to Racing Point, refuted the suggestion tensions were increasing between himself and Ferrari.
"I don't agree with the statement. I think we're trying to do everything we can," he said ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
"Obviously it's never relaxed if things don't go your way or they go wrong, so naturally I think if you judge just the emotions right after the race or during the race, then I don't think that's a fair reflection of what actually is going on, hence why I would tend to disagree.
"I didn't have a great race, we tried to come back up and we could have opted for maybe a different strategy but we didn't.
Walkin’ the track #essereFerrari #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/bjfW6gG1nt
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) August 13, 2020
"We've talked about it, sorted it out and moved on, so there's not much difference in terms of climate compared to the week before, or even before that.
"I've been in a happier place. I love, obviously, fighting at the front. I love winning and feeling that you can achieve great results and that we haven't done yet.
"Overall if you sum it up, it's not the best season start that I ever had, but I wouldn't go as far as frustration."
Vettel heads to Barcelona with a new SF1000 chassis, though he is not anticipating it will make too much difference.
"Only time can tell [if it's better]," he added.
"The thinking behind it is that we changed it because the other one was broken. We found a little crack after the weekend in Silverstone and it's back to get repaired.
"We will see. I don't expect miracles, but hopefully I'll have a smoother weekend and a smoother race on Sunday."