Vettel upbeat despite losing title lead

Although losing the championship lead to Lewis Hamilton in Baku, Sebastian Vettel was the more upbeat driver.

Indeed, while Hamilton’s won the race, it was only because Vettel’s late overtaking move for the win failed.

And also because Valtteri Bottas, in the other Mercedes, retired from the lead with a puncture.

Hamilton, on the other hand, did not manage to emerge from what some pundits since China two weeks ago have been calling a slump or a crisis.

"In all honestly I struggled through the weekend. I’m definitely struggling to extract the car’s potential and my potential," said the Briton in Baku.

Hamilton said Ferrari is "a lot" ahead of Mercedes in terms of pace at present.

German Vettel agreed that while he lost the title lead in Baku, his and Ferrari’s performance was "strong" except for the failed pass for the lead.

"The result changes nothing - we have a good car," he said. "I’m not worried.

"The big difference from last year is that we’re fast enough for pole now. That was a problem before," added Vettel.

He said he feels for Bottas, agreeing that Baku "was his victory".

"But that’s the way it works in our sport," Vettel added. "For me the most important is that we have a good car. Now we have to make sure we keep having a good car."