Austrian Grand Prix: Sebastian Vettel has Ferrari focusing on the track again after tough few weeks

After weeks of controversy and a missing chief engine designer, the Italian constructor needed some relief

Sebastian Vettel is pleased by Ferrari's recent performance despite off-track issues (Getty)

Sebastian Vettel’s performance thus far this weekend will come as an intense bit of relief to Ferrari, who have had a tough couple of weeks.

First there were the thinly veiled allegations in Baku a fortnight ago that they might have been the team burning oil as fuel, a practise the FIA had moved to stamp out. Then there was Vettel’s moment of madness in the race when he deliberately drove into the side of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes when they were running behind the safety car, and the ensuing hoopla that spilled over to this race.

Here in Spielberg they have strengthened the floors of their cars, after allegations that they might have been flexing, and mystery surrounds the present whereabouts of their chief engine designer Lorenzo Sassi.

Since the beginning of the season other teams and the FIA have been paying much attention to videos which apparently show parts of the Ferraris’ floors fluttering at high speed. The shaping of the underside of every F1 car is carefully calculated to enhance aerodynamic efficiency and thus maximise downforce and grip, and any floor that can deform at high speed is perceived to enhance that efficiency even further.

After some changes were made in China, further modifications, which included a metal strut to increase rigidity, were made for this race. Ferrari have denied any suggestion of wrongdoing and insist that their cars have always complied with all of the FIA’s technical requirements. Nevertheless, there was some anxiety over the possibility of the changes taking some edge off their performance here.

Meanwhile, the Italian media have been in a lather trying to discover whether Sassi has simply been switched to another department within Ferrari, or has left the company, after team president Sergio Marchionne was said to have called for his relocation personally. Whether this was a corollary of the oil-burning allegations remains unclear.

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene was due to take part in the mandatory FIA press conference here on Friday afternoon, but when he was replaced at the last moment after crying off it merely ramped up the intrigue.

Vettel lapped within 0.147s of Hamilton (Getty)

Under Sassi’s direction, Ferrari made such strong progress on the engine front, allied to progress on the chassis and aerodynamic fronts under technical director Mattia Binotto, that their SF70H is deemed to be at least a match for Mercedes’ W08 EQ Power machine under the new 2017 regulations.

When asked to comment on Sassi’s situation yesterday, championship leader Vettel said: “I don't know what you are referring to. It’s better you ask a little bit higher up."

But he also said, referring to Ferrari’s recent performances, “I know what was going on in the last two races. They were very different. The tracks are different. But if you take Canada: we actually had good pace in the race. The car was damaged and obviously my race looked very different to Lewis’, he could control the race from the front. Then in Baku in qualifying, we just didn’t get it together. The gap was artificially big. I’m not sitting here thinking that we are 1.1s behind in quallie here.

“Overall it’s probably fair to say that Mercedes had the upper hand Saturday and Sunday, but the difference was small. I think you are constantly trying to push all the areas, trying to improve the car, understanding the tyres, these kind of things. But I think for here we should be all set and we should be ready to race.”

The team were thus relieved when Vettel lapped within 0.147s of Hamilton on Friday, as the Englishman was fastest in both sessions.

“It's been a really good Friday with no major headaches to complain about so far,” Hamilton said. “We had to swap out a spark plug during FP2, but the guys did a great job to turn the car around and we still managed to complete our programme. Most importantly, the car feels fantastically fast here. There's already a nice balance and it feels good out on track. This car is so quick in comparison to what we raced here last year. It's tricky, but a proper thrill to hook up a lap. The team are in good spirits and we're all up for another exciting fight with the Ferraris this weekend.”

“Hopefully we have a calmer race and we should have more, let’s say, consistent conditions,” Vettel added, “then you are able to read much more how close we are.”