Ferrari add fifth ICE, MGU-H and turbocharger with Vettel starting last after Q1 failure; German remains confident of catching leaders with title rival Hamilton on pole.
Ferrari have introduced a raft of new engine components on Sebastian Vettel’s car after a failure in qualifying left him starting last at the Malaysia GP.
The Scuderia have added a fifth internal combustion engine (ICE), MGU-H and turbocharger to Vettel’s SF70-H, with the subsequent 20-place grid penalty negated.
The German, 28 points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton, failed to set a time in Q1 after losing power on his first flying lap.
It was the second glitch to strike Vettel’s car on Saturday, after Ferrari had changed the engine as a ‘precaution’ following an issue at the end of Practice Three.
Vettel still confident of catching leaders
Vettel and Ferrari had looked dominant throughout practice before his engine woes.
And given the Scuderia’s pace around Sepang, the four-time world champion is confident he will be able to work his way back through the field to Mercedes and Ferrari as he seeks to limit further damage to his championship ambitions.
“I expect we will get back to the leading group,” he said. “I don’t have an expectation in terms of a number but anything can happen – that’s why we go racing.
“I want to make sure we achieve our best. We need to extract the maximum. Knowing the race here, the conditions, anything can happen. I’m open-minded.
“I don’t believe in good luck or bad luck. We need to understand what happened today and make sure we understand it. The race is tomorrow so fortunately in a way it happened today and we saved some tyres and can choose strategy.
“For sure if the Safety Car comes out in a time that suits you then you never know what is possible. I haven’t seen any simulations yet but in terms of speed we should get back to the leading group and then see how far.”
