Vettel adamant Mercedes still favorite for F1 titles in 2017

By Apr 6, 2017, 11:10 AM EDT
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Sebastian Vettel is confident that Mercedes remains the favorite for both Formula 1 championships in 2017 despite leading Ferrari to victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes entered 2017 looking to claim a fourth-straight set of titles, having won over 50 races in the last three years as part of its domination of the V6 hybrid era.

Ferrari enjoyed a strong pre-season and delivered on its winter pace by beating Mercedes in Australia, with Vettel jumping Lewis Hamilton through the pit stops en route to his 43rd F1 win.

Vettel arrives in China expected to challenge for victory once again, but urged caution amid talk of Ferrari competing for its first world title since 2008 by stressing that Mercedes remained the favorite.

“Well I think Mercedes has to be still the favourite. Obviously we had a very strong first race, but I think at least the way we look at it inside the team, we really go race by race,” Vettel said.

“We know we have a good package, which puts us in a strong place, but there’s lots of things we need to do to keep up with them and keep the position that we are in now to fight for good races.”

Vettel’s victory in Australia was both his and Ferrari’s first in 18 months following a winless 2016 campaign, and although the four-time world champion stressed that last season was not as bad as critics have suggested, he admitted it was key to end the drought last month.

“Well it wasn’t that bad last year. It was not the best year we had, but still I think we had a decent amount of podiums,” Vettel said.

“We had races where things were not going our way, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Maybe my memory is wrong, but I remember it better than what people make out of it now.

“For sure it wasn’t the season that we wanted to have, so after one race, it’s easy to say that this year is better than last year, but it’s only one race. It’s the start of the season.

“But for sure, a lot of things have changed since last year, the team has evolved. I think we generally are in a much better position. People are more comfortable throughout the whole team.

“I think the work that is going in is a lot more targeted and overall I think we’re more confident with the way we work now. Hopefully we can keep up that trend to show that on the track.”

The Chinese Grand Prix is live across NBCSN and the NBC Sports app this weekend.

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”