Sebastian Vettel is expecting “more fun” racing Formula 1’s new cars in 2017.
This year will see the biggest regulation changes in several years with an increase in downforce, higher g-forces and wider tyres brought in to reduce lap times by around five seconds per lap.
Vettel has experience of higher g-forces and cornering speeds from when he first raced in Formula 1 in 2007 and the four-time champion believes the changes will be more ‘challenging’ for the drivers.
“The car should be significantly faster,” Vettel told Channel 4. “Not so much on the straight, I think the straights will be slower in terms of top speed.
“Cornering speeds will be a lot higher which means forces are higher, it will be more physical as well.”
“It’s interesting to see how the tyres will behave, the cars will have significantly more downforce than what we tested with last year.
Lars Baron/Getty Images SportLars Baron/Getty Images Sport
“Overall, it’s a big change, I think it will be more of a challenge. Overall, I think we could end up pushing harder for longer in the race, so we shouldn’t be limited too much by the tyres.
“Whether we’ll see more overtaking? I’m not sure. I don’t think we will. Hopefully, the racing will be better and more fun, if you go faster it’s normally always more fun.”
Asked if he saw this season as a rebuilding year for Ferrari, the German added: “I think when your racing for Ferrari you want to win again, so that’s our target to win the championship.
“It’s very difficult to have any expectations going into the season because everything is new.
“We’ve had a productive two years, some times were difficult, some times were very good for us but that’s part of it.
“I think we’re still stepping up, we should be in a good place but it’s impossible to make predictions right now.”
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