YAS MARINA, Abu Dhabi -- Sebastian Vettel downplayed the gearbox trouble he encountered at the end of FP2 and hinted that Ferrari can get in the mix with Mercedes in Abu Dhabi.
Vettel had turned out an impressive performance in FP2, finishing 0.296s behind session-leader Lewis Hamilton. In the closing minutes of the session Vettel pulled over at the side of the road but he said it is not an issue which should lead to a gearbox penalty later in the weekend.
When asked whether it was a practice gearbox unit, he replied: "That's what I think, but you should ask other people to confirm. I don't think it has an impact. It's not ideal, I would have liked to finish the run and get a couple more laps and do a start."
Ferrari is on the verge of its second winless season in three years but Vettel is determined to finish on a high and was encouraged by the early signs from the opening 180 minutes of track time.
"I hope so. I don't want to affect the outcome but I want to have a strong race, we want to have a very, very strong last race. If that means splitting them or even running in front of them by however the race turns out, then that's good news. They are the absolute favourites, nothing has changed in that regard.
"It's been a tough year for us, I don't need to go into details. But we're here to fight and finish strong."