Sebastian Vettel will have to start from the last row of the grid at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday in Austin (9:00 p.m. CEST in the FAZ live ticker on Formula 1 and on Sky).
"It will be a difficult weekend," said the four-time Formula 1 world champion.
The reason for the move to the end of the field is the replacement of the engine in the Aston Martin.
Only three drives may be used per season without penalty.
When using a fourth, drivers have to accept a downgrade.
With this regulation, the International Automobile Association had enormously reduced the costs for the development and use of hybrid drives in the medium term.
In the days of pure combustion systems, more than 200 engines were sometimes built per season.
Estimated price: one million euros.
Despite the bad prospects, Vettel did not want to rule out a successful development in the Austin race.
The Circuit of the Americas offers overtaking opportunities and is therefore “a good place” for an engine penalty.
“I think we can be strong.
How strong?
We'll see, "said Vettel:" I hope that it will be an entertaining Sunday and that we can get involved. "
In the past four Grand Prix, the Hessian could not win any points.
In Austin, Vettel managed to get a couple of baskets in a free throw basketball competition.
He could also score points in another category.
Vettel succeeded in most overtaking maneuvers (around 90) in the first 16 of 22 races.
However, only pilots who have to start far back get this benefit.
The faster ones have too few opponents in front of them.