Mat Coch writes:

Nothing is certain in Formula One, says Sebastian Vettel in a captivating press conference on Wednesday. The 24-year-old had the audience in fits of laughter as he explained his mental approach to the season, what he's named his new car, and even where he keeps his World Championship trophy.

Red Bull endured a less than trouble-free pre-season, the German in particular suffering as a result of reduced running on the final day in Barcelona last week. Question marks over the RB8's reliability arose after the final update was put on the car, with both drivers having problems.

"It's not disastrous, to be honest with you," Vettel claimed. "You have to understand when it's a new car, especially in winter testing, when you've got a problem, or some numbers start to go somewhere you don't like, then you stop.

"As a precaution you check the car," he explained. "That takes time; you have to take the floor off, certain parts of the car off to have a look. To get to them is not that easy so you lose track time, which is a shame, but that's how it is.

"The cars are built on the limit and we always try to get a little bit more, especially with the regulations staying pretty similar year by year; you try to push the boundaries maybe a little bit more. That's Formula One. Cars are built on the limit and they also do break from time to time."

"People are saying that the upgrade didn't work or whatever," added teammate Mark Webber. "We will have on the car what we had in Barcelona. That was something which worked for us, and we'll keep it on the car.

"We believe it's going in the right direction, but it only takes two or three tenths of a second and we need to do more. Let's see when the gloves are off on the weekend."

While the entire team walks with a confident swagger both drivers admit that maintaining the level of performance which saw the team sweep to both drivers' and constructors' championships last year will be difficult.

"It would be completely immature to believe that nothing ever goes wrong," warned Vettel. "From what I have seen so far, and what I have had to go through so far, I should be smart enough to know that it doesn't always go your way."