Intercooler problem rules Vettel out of FP1

Mark Scott
Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari’s British Grand Prix weekend has not got off to the best of starts, with Sebastian Vettel ruled out of the first practice session.

The departing Scuderia driver was able to head out on track on a very sunny and warm Friday morning at Silverstone, but his SF1000 was soon back up on the stands in the garage without a time being set.

Ferrari had discovered a problem with the intercooler system, so the car needed to be stripped down and reassessed ahead of the second practice session on Friday afternoon.

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Vettel’s future in Formula 1 is still one of the hottest topics in and outside the paddock, but he has called for some patience as we await official confirmation of his next step.

Asked if there is any update on his future, Vettel said: “I have no answer. I think it’s probably realistic to be patient  and wait a little bit. That could be a couple of weeks, that could be longer than that.

“Time will tell. Nothing has changed to what I mentioned in the last three weeks.


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“I’m not in a rush, I want to make sure that I make the right decision for myself and then take it from there. I think I’ve made it quite clear in the last events that given the right package etc then I have a lot more to give.

“I feel physically driving and so on that I’m no worse than I have been in the years that I’ve been in Formula 1 before. I feel very good and there’s a lot to give, so it depends what the options are.

“Looking to the future there’s the big rule change in 2022 which might be exciting or might not be, I think we don’t know sitting here now. I think you always hope for the better & as a fan of the sport I hope so too, but whether I will be there or not I don’t know.”

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