Sebastian Vettel optimistic for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite qualifying mistake

He is now fifth in the latest World Drivers’ Championship standings, only one point behind fellow compatriot Valterri Bottas while Vettel is third with 266 points.

Sebastian Vettel called the miscalculation made by his Ferrari team that saw him go out in Q1 and qualify only 16th for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix “a small mistake with a big consequence” but remains optimistic about his overtaking chances.

But Raikkonen has continued to lag behind his team-mate in the second half of the season and Ferrari are already weighing up their options for 2017, with Red Bull drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen said to be at the top of their wish list.

Vettel has won three races in his first season at Ferrari, while Raikkonen’s best result is a second place in the fourth race of the season in Bahrain in April.

“Compared to the opening year, when there was more downforce in the auto, now it’s a bit more fun, especially in the last sector you have to make sure to find the rhythm, otherwise you can drop your lap time”.

“I’m not so happy with the long run pace, the balance, so there is something we have to analyse tonight to get the best compromise between qualifying and the race”.

Last year, one of my best qualifying performances was here and today sort of backed that up. You don’t expect to be very high up and fighting for a lot.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene said the team had no concerns about Mercedes’ actions or potential outcomes.

“And next year we try again”. We have to wait until we put the cars on the circuit in a test and the first few races – then we really see where we are. “About sharing resource – human resource or technical resource – and we just need to understand what would be seen, going forward, as acceptable or not”.

“It is good that Kimi is in the front, we have a quick vehicle and it is possible to overtake here, even if only tomorrow we’ll be able to tell how much it is”.