Sebastian Vettel insists Ferrari’s🐬 priority lies with the best interests of the team and not individual drivers following its early use of team orders in the 2019 Formula 1 season.

Ferrari has imposed team orders ✤on its drivers at each of the opening three races of 2019, telling new signing Charles Leclerc to hold station behind Vettel in Australia and Bahrain, before instructing the Monegasque to allow Vettel throw into third place during the early stages of last weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.

New team boss Mattia Binotto has already made it clear that Ferrari would prioritise Vettel in “50-50” situations if required in a bid to avoid similar indecision over its team orders p෴olicy in recent years.

“The priority always lies within the team, so I think Charles is aware, I am aware that we are drivin🅘g for the team,” Vettel said.

“🎃We are fighting for our own race, but usualܫly with this kind of stuff, it’s never pleasant, but it’s a bit also what goes around comes around.

“We have so many races, only time will𓄧 tell whether we did somethin📖g right or wrong. At the time, you always try to do what is right.

“I can see that it’s not easy for anyone involved, but as👍 I said, we try to obviously get stronger and fight Mercedes whiꦏch are currently a little bit ahead.

“We need to unde﷽rstand why we ar🍎e behind and work on that so we don’t have to worry about these things.”

The four-time world champion, who sits just one point clear of Leclerc in the championship, said he has become f🍸rustrated by the media’s repeated line of questioning on the subject and believes Ferrari has been unfairly represented due to “poor journalism”.

Asked in Chi﷽na if using team orders is the best way to win the title, Vettel re💞plied: “I don’t know. Ask maybe Lewis [Hamilton].

“I think Mercedes has been in a very different situation, but I think it’s not the first time that we’ve seen🍨 something like that.

“Obviously as Mattꦰia said, we try to do everything as a team. Last week, or two weeks ago, Charles was faster, and it was quite straightforward, maybe a bit easier🥃 to pass in Bahrain.

“But I think the upsetting thing after the race is that we didn’t manage to finish third and fourth. Obviously I want to be ahead of Charles, ♌he wants to be ahead of me, that’s the name of the game.

“I’m not keen to expand much further, because it’s always a bit difficult, especially what you make out of the answer🍸 afterwards.

Asked if there was a specific story he had i🐼n mind, Vett♔el said: “Not really, it’s just poor journalism in my point of view.

“I don’t think it’s frustrating. It’s just a pain to answer the same questions over and over.

“But I’m no✃t a journalist to judge, so you shouldn’t tꦗake my judgement personally.”

FEATURE: The self-inflicted dilemma facing Ferrari