After showing impressive pace throughout pre-season testing in Barcelona, Vettel and his new teammate Charles Leclerc headed to Australia with many pundits believing they had the car to beat for the season. The opening weekend proved to be difficult, however, as Vettel qualified some seven tenths off pole position in third and finished the race in fourth place. Third-place finishes in China and Azerbaijan followed, as Mercedes continued to dominate. Vettel took pole position in Canada; his first pole in 17 races. Midway though the race, a snap of oversteer caused him to run wide onto the grass. Vettel received a five-second time penalty from the stewards, who believed he had returned to the track "in an unsafe manner and forced [Hamilton] off track". Vettel crossed the line in first place but lost his victory as a result of the penalty. After the race, he swapped the number one and two signs in front of Hamilton's Mercedes and the empty spot that was supposed for his own car, as Vettel parked his car at the start of the pit entry. At the , Vettel was unable to qualify after a turbo issue, which meant he would start in last place. During a race with mixed weather conditions, Vettel climbed up to second place. In Italy, Vettel spun at the Ascari chicane and when he re-entered the track, he made contact with Racing Point's Stroll. Vettel received a 10-second stop-go penalty and finished in 13th place. At the , Vettel won on a circuit Ferrari were expected to struggle at. For the first time, Vettel had won five times at the same track. The following race, in Russia, Vettel went from third place on the grid to first place in the first corner. However, radio transmissions suggested that the team wanted to swap their drivers, but with Vettel the quicker driver, he remained in front. Vettel retired soon after with a MGU-K problem.