Strong qualifying outing for Vettel
Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel had a good qualifying session in his STR3 this afternoon. The young German will start his home Grand Prix from 9th position. Team mate Sebastien Bourdais was less fortunate. The Frenchman will start the Hockenheim race from P15.
Sebastian Vettel (STR3-03): "I had a very good qualifying and the whole weekend so far has been good too, although it's been difficult to find the right balance mainly because of the tricky wind conditions. Q2 was quite tight and I was pleased to make it through to Q3 with my final lap. The fact I know this track so well is helping me a bit, because the
characteristics of this circuit are not the most suited to our package. It was nice to see the fans cheering on my out lap and it was only later I realised I was the only German through to Q3. We have a great grid position so now we must see what we can do tomorrow."
Third Practice Session: Best lap 1.16.037, pos. 5th, 24 laps
Qualifying Session: Best lap 1.17.244, pos. 9th
Sébastien Bourdais (STR3-01): "On my last run, I tried to push harder, knowing I was chasing four tenths of a second to get into Q3 and I wanted to get the most out of the car. Unfortunately, I locked up the right front for no apparent reason. But given where we were yesterday, when I was in the garage for much of the day, only managing twelve laps and not being able to evaluate a qualifying set-up, it's not too bad. Generally, there is quite a bit of overtaking at this race and it can get pretty hot on the opening laps so I hope I can make the most of any opportunities that come my way."
Third Practice Session: Best lap 1.16.808, pos. 15th, 23 laps
Qualifying Session: Best lap 1.15.858, Pos. 15th
Giorgio Ascanelli: "I had a feeling in Vettel's second run in Q1 that it might not be enough to get into Q2 and I was proved wrong by seven hundredths of a second. I didn't believe the kid could do it, so I took the decision to send him out on a second set of Option tyres, which we could have done with at the end of Q3. It was a very strong performance from Vettel, who in his home grand prix has not missed a beat and I am also glad that Bourdais has found a positive way to move forward. If he had not run wide, he could have been higher up. Also, he suffered from the lack of
track time on Friday, which was the team's fault not his."
