After a phenomenal start to the 2018 season with back-to-back wins at Australia and Bahrain, Ferrari star Sebastian Vettel has now fallen behind world title rival Lewis Hamilton, as the gap further widened after the conclusion of Spanish Grand Prix.

Failing to secure a podium finish in the last three races, Vettel stands 17 points adrift Hamilton, and the Brit now leads the standings with 95 points on the back of yet another brilliant outing in Barcelona.

The German ace wants a swift change in the turn of events as he called out to Scuderia to address the issues that have been plaguing the team during recent race weekends.

Speaking on the subject, the four-time world champion had a simple message for his team: “We have to address the problems we have. Today was a not good day and it's important we understand why.

“We didn't have a winning pace, it's as simple as that."

He refrained from making any sort of excuses on his part and admitted the upgrades made between Baku and Barcelona couldn't quite deliver.

“We had updates and maybe the others brought more than us. The tyres changed and maybe that suited others better than us. But why find excuses? The bottom line is that we were not quick enough and that needs to be addressed,” added the 30-year-old.

“We were not quick enough. If we cannot see that then we are more than blind. We didn't have the pace in the first stint.”

Vettel also backed his team on their decision to pit when the virtual safety car was required, despite the decision for a second stop being highly criticised after the end of the race.

He suffered severe graining on his front left tyre which forced him to pit 20 laps earlier than Red Bull, denting any hope of securing a podium finish.

Vettel concluded by addressing the decision of Pirelli to reduce the tread of their tyres for Spain this weekend, saying: “Second, we struggled across the weekend with the tyres. They changed, but they changed for everyone.

“Third, it was a poor weekend in terms of reliability. Kimi had an issue with the engine on Saturday and had to change the engine, and retired today.

“We must see those. If we don't see those there are no excuses.”