Sebastian Vettel is hoping that his Ferrari will be much closer to the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton during Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
The German could only manage third on the grid as Rosberg beat Hamilton to pole position at Interlagos.
However, while Vettel has suggested that his Ferrari is usually better in race conditions, the four-time world champion claims that only a "rocket start" will do.
He told reporters: "I saw that Nico's lap wasn't clean so I expected him to pick it up in Q3. But then both of them did improve, and that was a bit too much for us, we couldn't follow. Let's see tomorrow, usually in the race we are a bit closer.
"In order to get in front of the Mercedes we need a rocket start, it is not a very long way down to turn one, and a good start always helps.
"Then in the race trim we are usually a bit better than in qualifying, close enough to put some pressure on them, then I think we can play around with strategy. Interlagos is a crazy place, lot of things can happen, you never know what a GP can bring."
Vettel's last victory at Sao Paolo came in 2013, when he drove for Red Bull.
Chris O'Keefe
