Sebastian Vettel says winning three titles has not changed his approach to 2013, or affected his motivation in any way.
The German insists that it’s business as usual at the start of the new season.
“Well if there is a secret I think it’s not to think about what happened the last three years,” said Vettel. “I think the first title was very, very special. After that I don’t think you have that pressure any more. You’ve proved to yourself more than to anyone else that you can do so. After that obviously we had two fantastic years again, very different to each other.
“But as I said, you probably don’t think about what happened last year or the last three years. We are here, we have zero points on our side at the moment, the same as everyone else. So everyone has the same opportunities.
“The cars didn’t really change. Last year we saw it was very close, so I don’t expect it to be any different that last year. If anything maybe a little bit tighter. So it will be crucial to make the most out of every single race – but in terms of motivation… it was a long flight, but I’m happy to be here now and very pleased to start again.”
Vettel expects a tough battle this season.
“I think it’s going to be a long year. Obviously we’re looking forward to this weekend and this is the first of many. But I think we’ve seen in the last couple of years, last year in particular, that it’s a long season and every race is very important. So this is the place we start but then there are many other places coming.”
Adam Cooper F1 