Vettel: The last couple of races have been harsh

The alarming free-fall in the Formula 1 pecking order by Ferrari has been a harsh reality check for the legendary team, according to their star driver Sebastian Vettel.

The four times F1 world champion said ahead of the summer break, "I think the last couple of races have been harsh and tough for us, but very, very useful."

"I think we understood a lot about our car strength and weaknesses about our car, so we know what to focus on, so it wasn't entirely clear after the first couple of races but it became more and more evident."

"It's a harsh way to find out, not being competitive and not as competitive as we want to," admitted Vettel.

Indeed Ferrari have endured a barren run of form, neither Vettel or teammate Kimi Raikkonen have finished on the podium since the Austrian Grand Prix, and before the summer break the Reds have dropped behind Red Bull in the championship standings.

"I think we know what to do, obviously it's not going to change overnight but there's a plan and I think the second half we should be stronger in that regard. It also depends on what other people do but for that we focus on ourselves."

As for the Ferrari SF16-H, Vettel revealed, "I think it's more of a general thing but I don't want to go into too much detail, I know you're very interested!"

"Some things do take a little bit of time but overall the most important is that we're challenging ourselves and obviously you're right, it would have been nicer to find out a bit sooner, but that's how it is."

"The main point is that we find out, we are always trying to improve, but the last races in this regard have been very educational to know potentially where our weaknesses compared to Red Bull and Mercedes," concluded Vettel.