Red Bull in ideal positions to start race
Red Bull racing enjoyed another perfect qualifying with its two drivers taking up the first two positions on the grid. Sebastian Vettel took pole just like in Japan, while championship leader Mark Webber was a close second.
Sebastian Vettel, car 5, position: 1st, Chassis 5:
“It’s a special feeling to be on pole – it was very close. The track is good here – in the first sector there’s not so much you can do, just hit your braking points at the right time, but the second and third sectors are quite entertaining with nice flowing corners, but it’s easy to make a mistake. It was a small margin for pole, but it was enough and it was a good result as yesterday we didn’t have smooth running. We had a puncture in the practice, so I hadn’t done too many laps on the new track, which makes it harder to get into a rhythm. You have to take every race as it comes, Japan was a good result, but now in Korea all the focus is on tomorrow’s race. The car was quick today, no doubt, but you still need to get the job done and the most important thing is that you remain calm, which we all did as we knew what we had in us. So, we got the job done today, but let’s see for tomorrow.”
Mark Webber, car 6, Position: 2nd, Chassis 3:
“I wasn’t that happy on my first timed laps to be honest, so it was more comfortable for me to do two timed laps for my last run. It worked out okay, but obviously it was very close with Seb and I got second on the grid. It’s not a bad position to start the race, but it would have been nice to get pole, still – we can get a good result from there. I’m starting on the dirty side of the grid tomorrow and Fernando (Alonso, in third) will be solid off the line, but that’s not going to make or break the Championship, so we’ll press on from there – we’re certainly in a good position.”
Christian Horner, Team Principal: “A fantastic team performance today. A one two start on the grid at this new circuit is a great result and the drivers were again split by the narrowest of margins. They elected to take different strategies in Q3, Sebastian focused on two one-lap runs while Mark elected to do two laps on his last run. The difference between the two of them was almost identical to the gap in Japan, so a great team performance. We need to continue this tomorrow and hopefully the weather won’t interfere with the race.”
Fabrice Lom, Renault: ”A really impressive performance from our two drivers on this new track – we are the first team in history to have pole and the first front row on the grid in Korea, so we are very proud of that. It’s also good for the Championship as Alonso is behind us with the McLarens further back, so we are in good shape. Let’s hope there’s not too much rain, as predictions are not good for tomorrow’s weather – but we will prepare with our usual professionalism.”
