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Cape Town - Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari's final step toward winning titles again will be the "hardest" one to take, but thinks the Scuderia have a solid platform to build on.
2017 saw a long-awaited revival from Ferrari but that ultimately could not be sustained over the entire season as Mercedes eventually came out on top again.
With Vettel now preparing to go head-to-head with fellow four-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, he is optimistic that Ferrari have what it takes to complete the final step on the road to recovery.
"Obviously the regulations stay roughly the same. I
think we have a good and healthy platform to build on at the beginning of the
year so I hope we can continue," Vettel told Autosport.
"What we have to do is take that final step. If you look back it's always that final step that's the hardest.
"There's a lot of work going on already and for the last couple of months focusing on next year, trying to make the car faster, with more power into the power unit, and then we'll see where we are."
Vettel thinks it has mostly been "good news" for Ferrari since the introduction of the new aerodynamic regulations in 2017 and is hoping to be a title contender once again in 2018.
"In the end as a driver you want to win, and obviously when you are competitive at the beginning you don't know if it will be enough to fight for the championship," he added.
"Usually it's a no-brainer: if the car is quick and you are doing your job well then as the season progress it will lead you to good news or bad news.
"For the most of it I think it's been good news.
"There were a couple of weeks that were quite painful for us, but overall it's always great if you have a package that you can take to the fight."
