Sebastian Vettel has admitted Ferrari are finding it tough when it comes to closing the gap to Mercedes.
The 2019 campaign has been hugely disappointing for the Scuderia thus far having had the quickest car during pre-season, only to be left trailing in the wake of the Silver Arrows since racing got underway.
Mercedes have enjoyed five straight one-two finishes to start the year and could be on course for a sixth in Monaco this weekend with Lewis Hamilton fastest in both practice sessions on Thursday, while Valtteri Bottas was second-quickest during the afternoon.
Vettel was third-fastest in P2 but was well adrift of Hamilton, the four-time world champion finishing 0.763s behind the Brit.
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The German, who has just two third places to show for his efforts this season, has admitted that his 2019 car isn’t performing as expected and that the work put into improving the SF90 has yet to see Ferrari close the gap. “We tried a lot of things, they didn’t really work so it was not that productive,” Vettel said. “Overall we are struggling a bit, obviously lacking a bit of pace compared to Mercedes, struggling a bit to get the tyres to really work, so a bit of work ahead of us. “It’s a bit of everything, so not exactly what you’d like around here.
You’d like to know what the car is going to do so you can anticipate a bit more. But I’m sure come Saturday things should calm down. Maybe it’s a bit warmer as well, it could help us.”
