Horner hails teamwork for strong qualifying
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner pointed to the 'tremendous job' the mechanics did in order to facilitate Sebastian Vettel 2nd and Mark Webber's third grid slots for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel, 2nd: “It wasn’t clear if the first lap we did in Q3 was the lap on intermediate tyres – so it was hard to know where we were today. We went out on slicks to start, which was quite entertaining as it started to rain pretty heavily. We then went onto intermediates and it still wasn’t clear what would happen. It looked like there was more rain coming, so we all rushed to get a lap, but then it stopped and the circuit came back very quickly. The last lap tuned out to be the fastest with the circuit drying. It was difficult to know how fast you could go, I saw Lewis catching and thought I could have gone a bit quicker here and there, but in the end it was quite close across the line. In these conditions anything can happen. I’m happy today; the boys did a good job with the change from slicks to intermediates which got us an extra lap and it was a good day for the team.”
Mark Webber, 3rd: “It was a difficult session to make all the right calls, but in the end I think we got most things right. I think it’s very easy to look stupid in those conditions, but in the end we did most things pretty good I’d say. It’s a little bit bizarre with the DRS going on and off in the session, but it’s the same for everyone. It was a ballsy thing to go slower on the second to last lap to save the tyres, when you’re still not sure if the track will improve for the last lap, but in the end it worked out and I’m happy to be up there for tomorrow’s race.“
Christian Horner, Team principal: “A really tense and exciting qualifying through all three sessions where the weather played its inevitable part. The boys did a tremendous job on the final turnaround in Q3 to get both cars back out on track so quickly, which enabled Mark and Sebastian to get three timed laps each; their last laps were enough to put them second and third on the grid. So, despite the opportunity to get everything wrong today, we managed to get most of it right. It’s good to be starting second and third for tomorrow’s race, which will no doubt see the weather play a part.”
Thierry Salvi, Renault support engineer: “I’m sure everyone will say it, but we almost won the lottery, we just came up one number short! But a great effort from the team to finish P2 and P3, putting us in a perfect position for the race. We already know the power and the speed is there in the dry, so tomorrow it will be a case of staying on top of the fuel numbers, maps and tyres to take every opportunity.”
