F1: Heroic Vettel loses more ground (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, October 2 - Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel lost more ground on Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton despite a stunning drive at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
    The German four-time world champion stormed up the field from last place to finish fourth after starting at the back of the grid due to an engine problem on Saturday.
    He is now 34 points behind Mercedes' Hamilton, who came second on Sunday behind Red Bill's Max Verstappen.
    Ferrari were particularly unlucky in Malaysia as Kimi Raikkonen failed to start because of a malfunction.
    "I am still optimistic, because we know that we have a quick car," said Vettel.
    "Of course it was a shame for Kimi who couldn't take the start, and for me having to begin my race from the back of the grid. "We tried to fight for the podium, pushed very hard, but in the end the tires were starting to give up and we couldn't be really there. "However, it is promising to see the car is good, even if both Kimi and I hit trouble this weekend. I don't know yet if the issue is the same on both cars, we'll need to have a look.
    For sure it's not ideal having one car out yesterday and another one today. "So, there's something we need to understand. It's been a difficult weekend, but nevertheless the speed is there. "So far we've had a pretty good record for this year regarding reliability. I am not that worried to be honest, but we need to get on top of the problem".