Sebastian Vettel said there was no way he could match Mercedes' pace at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Vettel finished third and crossed the line 45 seconds behind Nico Rosberg, the biggest victory margin this year for Mercedes over Ferrari. For the first two stints he was able to keep Lewis Hamilton behind him, but once Hamilton opted to switch onto a three-stop strategy there was no chance of finishing any higher than third.
"We were hanging in there pretty well, it was an adequate start and we were able to get past Lewis," he said. "We did the right thing covering him the first stop but then unfortunately they switched to three stops and they were just too quick so we couldn't really keep up with the pace they had today. Third is the best we could do, I'm very happy, the car is great. It's great to see all the fans and the Ferrari flags, so very happy."
Vettel also joked about the traffic he faced during the race, which appeared to anger him in the cockpit.
"I think as a racing driver you need always complain about something, especially if you're German, so. I think we tried everything we could, obviously going through traffic is never easy, but in the end it's the same for all of us. Sometimes you're a bit luckier other times you will lose a little bit more."