Sebastian Vettel is sure Ferrari will be stronger in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix after failing to match the pace of Red Bull on Friday.
Despite expectations coming into the weekend that Ferrari would be the team to beat, it was Red Bull's long-run pace in FP2 that captured people's attention in the paddock. Daniel Ricciardo had led a dominant one-two in that session but Vettel had been denied the chance to complete a clean qualifying simulation, encountering traffic on his first flying lap and then losing control of his car and tapping the wall on his second.
Vettel, who was closer to Red Bull in FP1, says he is still trying to find the ideal balance of his car.
"I think it was a bit of a mixed day," Vettel said. "Not ideal, I lost the car on my second attempt in the middle sector but overall, I'm not yet happy. When you miss a little bit of the balance, you miss a bit of the confidence. We tried a couple of things, not sure they were the right things to do and now we see what the right thing is to do for tomorrow.
"I tried a fast lap, I just didn't finish it. Today is not a problem, it's Friday and you are here to try -- it's free practice, so it's for free! Not ideal but overall I think important to get the feel for the car, that's more important. We're still not where we want to be so a lot of work ahead."
With Mercedes expecting to struggle at what has become one of its worst circuits on the calendar in the V6 turbo era, Singapore is a good opportunity for Sebastian Vettel to reclaim the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton. Though Red Bull's strength could work to his advantage if it knocks Mercedes further down the order, Vettel is not convinced its impressive Friday pace will carry over into Saturday.
Asked if Red Bull's pace could help his championship hopes, he said: "Oh I don't know. Priority is to go as fast as we can and then we'll see where that takes us. It's not the first Friday they've been competitive so I don't know what they did. I'm sure it will be close tomorrow but how it will be exactly I don't know."