Vettel confirms Red Bull qualifying pace
Sebastian Vettel again put in a solid qualifying performance for Red Bull by securing the third spot on tomorrow's grid. The German again proved the speed that is in the car. Teammate Mark Webber meanwhile suffered from traffic and did not get further than a 19th place.
Sebastian Vettel, P3: "That was a good session, we could see in Q1 it was very tough and it wasn’t enough to do one run on the prime tyres, so everyone had to put on the option. But it was a smooth qualifying session and we had no problems. The car was very quick, we only needed one run in Q2 and we remained at the top, even though the circuit was improving, which was very good. In Q3 the two Toyotas were a bit too quick – I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I reckon they might pull in a little earlier than us! But, it’s a long race, so let’s see."
Mark Webber, P19: "Traffic. I had traffic on the last corner and therefore wasn’t quick enough to go through. I don’t usually get caught out with that problem and that was the worst place to get nailed, as it wrecked both my flying laps. I had nowhere to go in the last corner of my first lap and then Sutil slip-streamed past me for the start of my second, so it was a disaster. Q1 is the worst session to have had that problem, as now we’re at the back for tomorrow – my race is screwed."
Christian Horner: "I think the car weights will show that both Toyotas are set for an aggressive strategy tomorrow – we’ve got a fresh set of tyres remaining from today so I think we have a strong strategy for tomorrow’s race. We’re bitterly disappointed for Mark who was blocked by Sutil in Q1, both drivers should have been up at the front today which is really frustrating. It was a great performance from Sebastian though – he’s on fire at the moment, he did a great lap in Q2 and a very good lap in Q3, so let’s see what tomorrow’s race brings."
Fabrice Lom: "Very mixed feelings. We had a very good qualifying with Sebastian, who was top in Q1 and Q2. He’s third, but I think he has a good strategy so we’re confident for tomorrow. It will be very hot and the engine will suffer a bit, but we will try our best to get some more points and I hope a victory! It’s such a shame for Mark, he was having a great weekend but then was blocked in qualifying. I’m sure he can bounce back from there tomorrow – we’ll cross our fingers."
