SUZUKA, Japan -- Sebastian Vettel says a podium is possible at the Japanese Grand Prix despite his three-place penalty on Sunday's grid.
Vettel was hit with the penalty at last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix after pitching Nico Rosberg into a spin at the start of the race. The penalty will see him start three places lower than the position he qualifies on Saturday and in Friday's practice sessions at Suzuka he could only struggle to the fifth fastest time -- over 0.5s off teammate Raikkonen.
But despite the odds stacking up against him, Vettel still believes a podium is possible.
"It's always possible and they say it might rain at some point this weekend, so I think we need to be ready," he said. "For sure it doesn't help if you are starting a little bit further back, but overtaking is possible here even though it's not easy.
"But for now we need to work on the speed of the car. Ideally we would love to have more grip around here because it feels fantastic if you do, but I think we can tune the balance and distribute the grip a little better so that we are in better shape tomorrow."
Asked why he was so far behind Raikkonen, he added: "Yeah, I think he got a better lap. Overall I'm not entirely happy with the balance, but I think it's something we can work on and improve."