Stuttgart - Sebastian Vettel doesn't expect an instant return to success at Ferrari because world champion Mercedes will likely continue to dominate Formula One racing next year.
The four-time world champion Vettel told Thursday's edition of German paper Die Welt that he is ready to be patient as he moves to the famed Italian team in 2015 from Red Bull.
“We don't have to pretend that we can match Mercedes next year. I am aware that we face a big task at Ferrari which requires some time, especially at a time in which Mercedes has a huge competitive edge,” Vettel said.
“First of all I want to prove that it was the right step - for Ferrari and for myself. That will take a while. I don't expect the people to be fired up from the outset. You have to work for it.”
Vettel won his four world titles between 2010 and 2013 but no race at all in the past season in a fifth-place finish. Mercedes dominated 2014, running away with the constructors' title and having the top two drivers in world champion Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
FERRARI’S LOSING STREAK
Ferrari has not won a race since summer 2013 and last had a world champion in Kimi Raikkonen 2007. The team was a poor fourth in the constructors list in 2014, with departing Fernando Alonso sixth and Raikkonen 12th on the drivers side.
Alonso failed to win the title in five seasons at the Scuderia, and even Michael Schumacher did not win his first of five world titles at Ferrari until his fifth season at the team.
Vettel reiterated that he fulfilled a childhood dream by joining Ferrari, speaking of “a car that lives, has a soul.
“Michael Schumacher was an idol of mine in his red car when I was a little boy ... Ferrari is a myth, the temptation is huge to help Ferrari in a transitional period to drive for the top again, hopefully soon. I will give it all I have.
“Ferrari is just something special. The myth, the history, Enzo Ferrari, the whole path of the Ferrari Scuderia in Formula One create a special feeling in me,” he said.
Sapa-dpa